Glycemic Control and Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose in Type 2 Diabetic Patients on Insulin and Prevalence of Candidiasis in these Patients at Dschang District Hospital, Cameroon: A Cross-Sectional Study
Désiré F Kenfack
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Dschang, P.O. Box 67, Dschang, Cameroon.
Larissa Y Chimi
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Dschang, P.O. Box 67, Dschang, Cameroon.
Joseph Fondop
Department of Morphological Sciences, Pathological Anatomy and Legal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Dschang, P.O. Box 95, Dschang, Cameroon.
Armel J Agokeng
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Dschang, P.O. Box 67, Dschang, Cameroon.
Larissa M Magnibou
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Ngaoundéré, P. O. Box 454, Cameroon.
Julie KT Magne
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Dschang, P.O. Box 67, Dschang, Cameroon.
Guy SS Njateng
*
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Dschang, P.O. Box 67, Dschang, Cameroon and Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Dschang, P.O. Box 95, Dschang, Cameroon.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Background: The number of deaths attributed to diabetes was estimated at nearly 1.5 million worldwide in 2012, making this disease one of the 15 most deadly pathologies in the world. Self-monitoring of blood glucose is not widely used in type 2 diabetics on insulin.
Objective: To evaluate the level of glycemic control and identified some factors that may influence it as well as determining the prevalence of candidiasis in these patients.
Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on a population of type 2 diabetic patients on insulin followed at Dschang District Hospital with an average age of 58 years treated with insulin for at least 2 months and the predictors of poor glycemic control were measured (HbA1c higher than 7%) and the search for three species of Candida carried out in 3 different types of samples (urine, blood and oral cavity). Furthermore, a questionnaire was used to collect information on self-monitoring of blood glucose.
Results: This study included 66 diabetic patients with a mean age of 58 years and a male predominance (51.5%). The majority of patients had been diabetic for at least 6 years with a mean duration of insulin therapy of 6 months. 90.1% of the participants reported having a glucometer and 54.5% reported performing self-monitoring of blood glucose twice a day as recommended by the physician. This study found that 78.8% of these patients had inadequate glycemic control. Factors such as Body mass index, duration of diabetes and coexistence with hypertension influenced this glycemic control. Similarly, a prevalence of 15.2%, 12.1% and 00% were recorded for urinary, oral and systemic candidiasis respectively with Candida albicans being the species most involved in these infections.
Conclusion: Poor glycemic control is common among type 2 diabetic patients on insulin at Dschang District Hospital and is due to poor use and lack of training of patients on the practice of self-monitoring of blood glucose. This poor glycemic control favours the development of candida infections, especially urinary and oral.
Keywords: Diabetes, glycemic control, candidiasis, Dschang District Hospital