Diabetic patients on hemodialysis

Introduction: Diabetes Mellitus is one of the leading causes of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) worldwide. Good glycemic control plays a key role in reducing the progression of macro and microvascular damage in patients on hemodialysis. Aim of the study: To investigate the prevalence of Diabetes Mellitus in patients with chronic hemodialysis. Evaluation of the prevalence of comorbidities such as Arterial Hypertension, Chronic Heart Failure and Neuropathy in patients with diabetes mellitus undergoing chronic hemodialysis. Methodology: This is a cross-sectional study involving 70 adult patients (age > 18 years) who underwent hemodialysis for at least three months, three times a week and who consented to participate in the study. The study was conducted for a period of one month, January-February 2021, at the Mother Teresa Hospital Center, Tirana, hemodialysis ward. Demographic data (gender, age), good quality HD, height, weight before and after dialysis, causes of kidney failure, other diseases such as Diabetes Mellitus, cardiovascular disease and neuropathy were obtained using medical records of patient records. Results: The study included 70 patients. Of them 65.7% were male. The mean age of patients treated with chronic HD was 52 } 15. The prevalence of Diabetic nephropathy in our study was 15.7%. In the group of patients where the primary disease for ESRD was Diabetes, the percentage of concomitant diseases was: Hypertension 10%, Chronic Heart Failure 10% and Neuropathy 5.7%. In the rest of the patients the percentage of concomitant diseases was: Hypertension 55.7%, Chronic Heart Failure 45.7% and Neuropathy 7.1%. Patients with DM had 6 months to 10 years of HD treatment time. Conclusions: We do not have a statistically significant relationship between the occurrence of diseases such as Arterial Hypertension, Chronic Heart Failure and Neuropathy and patients with DM treated with chronic hemodialysis.