Standards of diabetes care and burden of hypoglycaemia in people with diabetes on peritoneal dialysis: Results from a real-world clinical audit

Abstract

There is limited data on the standards of diabetes care in people on peritoneal dialysis (PD). Our aim was to assess the standards of diabetes care and the burden of hypoglycaemia in people with diabetes on PD. We performed a retrospective study at three university hospitals from December 2021 to January 2022. Clinical data were extracted from electronic health records. Diabetes care of people on PD was compared against recommended standards for people with diabetes on haemodialysis (as there are no agreed standards for PD). The degree of hypoglycaemia awareness was assessed by validated questionnaires. A total of 65 adults (15 type 1, 49 type 2 and 1 monogenic-diabetes) with a mean age of 63 (range 29–88) years were evaluated. Of them, 92% had diabetes retinal screening with annual review. In contrast, in this high-risk group for foot disease, only 77% had annual foot reviews. The rates of diabetes specialist reviews were variable between hospitals at 63–94% and 10 (15%) had impaired hypoglycaemia awareness. Of the cohort, 32% had HbA1c within the acceptable range of 58–80 mmol/mol (7.5–8.5%), 21% had HbA1c below 58 mmol/mol (7.5%) and 21% ( n = 14) reported at least one hypoglycaemic event per month. Our results indicate variation of care within and between different centres, and the need for improved diabetes care in people on PD. Further work is required to establish agreed standards/recommendations of diabetes care in this population. Our findings highlight the necessity of an integrated multidisciplinary approach to improve the standard of diabetes care for people on PD.