Circumstances of diagnosis of diabetes mellitus at the sylvanus olympio university hospital in lomé

The purpose of this study was to describe the different circumstances in which diabetes mellitus was detected in the Department of Internal Medicine at the Sylvanus Olympio University Hospital in Lomé. We conducted a retrospective and descriptive study in the Department of Internal Medicine, at the Sylvanus Olympio University Hospital in Lomé from January 2015 to December 2017. During the study period, 307 patients with diabetes mellitus were admitted to our Department, of whom 104 did not know to have diabetes. The average age of patients was 51.27 years (ranging from 20 to 90 years), the sex ratio (M/F) was 0,5. Type 2 diabetes was diagnosed in 75% of cases, type 1 in 23% of cases and secondary in 2% of cases. The discovery of diabetes was fortuitous in 11.53% of cases (n=12). Some patients had symptoms (26.92%, n=28) while others had complications (61.53%, n=64). Complications included: ketoacidosis (n=34), hyperosmolar hyperglycemic syndrome (n=3), high blood pressure (n=8), ischemic stroke (n=4), diabetic foot (n=2), diabetic nephropathy (n=2), polyneuropathy (n=1), infections (n=18, 8 with metabolic complications). This study shows that in the Department of Internal Medicine, at the Sylvanus Olympio University Hospital in Lomé, diabetes mellitus is most commonly diagnosed when patients have complications. It is essential to educate our populations about prevention and screening tests.