Background Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a major acute metabolic complication of type I diabetes mellitus but may occur in type II diabetes during severe stressful conditions. Aim The aim of this study was to describe the clinical profile of DKA patients admitted to the National Diabetes and Endocrine Center in Tripoli, Libya, during 2015. Patients and methods The profiles of 490 patients admitted with DKA were retrospectively studied. All the data was collected from the patient files. Results Most of the patients (91.6%) were admitted to the intensive care unit. The mean age was 35.9 years. DKA was more common among young males with type I diabetes. The average duration of diabetes disease of the patient when admitted with DKA was 16.8 ± 8.2 years. The frequencies of patients admitted with mild, moderate or severe diabetic ketoacidosis were 49.8%, 32.7% and 17.8%, respectively. The most frequent causes of admission were insulin omission (21.8%), infection (20.2%), and wrong dose (11%). The cause of DKA was not known for 29.8% of the patients. DKA was more common among young males, and the rate increased with longer duration of the condition. Most of the patients (93.1%) were discharged in good health, and mortality was 0.6%. Conclusion Males and patients with a long duration of diabetes disease are more prone to develop DKA. The common causes of DKA were unknown in our study; however, admission of individuals with less serious illness, insulin omission, and infection may contribute to the development of DKA.
