Nighat Majeed, Farrukh Iqbal, Zafar Iqbal, Atyia Mahboob.
Frequency and association of cutaneous manifestations of Diabetes Mellitus with HbA1c.
Proceeding Shaikh Zayed Postgrad Med Inst Jan ;18(2):85-9.

Diabetes mellitus is the most common endocrine disorders associated with disturbed metabolism. Glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) is one parameter of checking blood glucose control in diabetics over the past 3 months. We concluded a study to look for skin disorders due to diabetes mellitus and to see correlation between control of blood sugar (HbA1c) and cutaneous manifestations. It was a cross sectional study. The study was carried out from 1st January 2003 to 31st March 2003 in the Department of Medicine and Dermatology, Shaikh Zayed Hospital, Lahore. A total of 200 patients of diabetes mellitus admitted as inpatient and attending Outpatient Department of Medicine were studied. Patient`s history, dermatological and systemic examination were recorded. Their blood was collected for estimation of random blood sugar, complete blood count, blood urea, serum creatinine, serum electrolytes, serum lipid profile whereas HbA1c was determined by chromatographic method. Normal range of HbA1c was taken as 5-7%. HbA1c of > 7% was taken as high and HbA1c value of <7% was taken as normal. Of 200 patients, 116 (58%) patients were found to have cutaneous abnormalities, 127 (63.5%) patients had high HbA1c value and 73 (36.5%) patients had normal HbA1c value. In patients having high HbA1c value, 90 (70%) patients had cutaneous disorders. Among those patients who had normal HbA1c, value 26 (35.6%) patients had skin abnormalities. This correlation was found to be statistically significant (P <0.002). Prevalence of cutaneous disorders in diabetes mellitus is 58%. Cutaneous manifestations are more common in patients who have overall poor glycemic control which in turn is reflected by high HbA1c, value (Normal= 5-7%).

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