Written Question · S6W-05778 · Session 6
How many cases of diabetic ketoacidosis have been diagnosed and, of these, how many resulted in the death of the patient, in each year sinc…
The question
To ask the Scottish Government how many cases of diabetic ketoacidosis have been diagnosed and, of these, how many resulted in the death of the patient, in each year since 2017-18, and what its position is on whether there are any disparities in these data between disadvantaged and more affluent geographical areas.
The answer
The table below from Public Health Scotland shows the numbers of inpatient and day case hospital admissions with a primary diagnosis of diabetic ketoacidosis and the number of these admissions where the patient died in hospital.
Due to the way that complications of diabetes are coded in the international ICD10 coding system this only includes cases of diabetic ketoacidosis without coma. These figures do not include cases of diabetic ketoacidosis with coma, which cannot be identified separately from instances of diabetic coma without ketoacidosis.
Year
Number of hospital admissions
Number of deaths during hospital admission
2017-18
2,665
26
2018-19
2,572
30
2019-20
2,769
29
2020-21
2,461
44
Source: SMR01, Public Health Scotland
Treatments for diabetes are complex and multifaceted. Many treatments require people to go through a formal education programme in order to self-manage their condition from home. This means there are many barriers facing people living with diabetes and in particular, those living in areas of deprivation or those for whom English is a second language.
We are committed to understanding these barriers and are working in partnership with Diabetes Scotland and the Alliance to ensure the needs of people living with diabetes are fully understood. We will take targeted action to ensure equity of access across Scotland and share progress of this using data from SCI-diabetes.
We are committed to improving outcomes for people living with diabetes across Scotland. Our Diabetes Improvement Plan contains specific commitments to raise awareness of the dangers of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and also has a significant focus on equity of access to care and services. This can be found at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/diabetes-improvement-plan-diabetes-care-scotland-commitments-2021-2026/documents/ .
Due to the way that complications of diabetes are coded in the international ICD10 coding system this only includes cases of diabetic ketoacidosis without coma. These figures do not include cases of diabetic ketoacidosis with coma, which cannot be identified separately from instances of diabetic coma without ketoacidosis.
Year
Number of hospital admissions
Number of deaths during hospital admission
2017-18
2,665
26
2018-19
2,572
30
2019-20
2,769
29
2020-21
2,461
44
Source: SMR01, Public Health Scotland
Treatments for diabetes are complex and multifaceted. Many treatments require people to go through a formal education programme in order to self-manage their condition from home. This means there are many barriers facing people living with diabetes and in particular, those living in areas of deprivation or those for whom English is a second language.
We are committed to understanding these barriers and are working in partnership with Diabetes Scotland and the Alliance to ensure the needs of people living with diabetes are fully understood. We will take targeted action to ensure equity of access across Scotland and share progress of this using data from SCI-diabetes.
We are committed to improving outcomes for people living with diabetes across Scotland. Our Diabetes Improvement Plan contains specific commitments to raise awareness of the dangers of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and also has a significant focus on equity of access to care and services. This can be found at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/diabetes-improvement-plan-diabetes-care-scotland-commitments-2021-2026/documents/ .
In the Official Report
No contribution in the Official Report cites S6W-05778 by reference.