Background The burden of diabetes has increased rapidly with an increasing cost of treatment. Objectives To describe the glycemic control, injection practices, and treatment adherence among diabetic patients treated with insulin. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted using a convenience sampling method at the 3 tertiary referral hospitals in Bhutan. Sociodemographic, injection practices, and clinical details were collected. Good glycemic control was defined as glycated hemoglobin A (HbA1c) <7% if available or fasting blood sugar 70–130 mg/dL and 2 h postprandial blood sugar <180 mg/dL if HbA1c values were unavailable. Medication adherence was assessed using the Morisky, Green and Levine (MGL) scale. The injection technique was assessed using a 10-item checklist. Results We studied 207 patients. Good glycemic control was achieved by only 58 (28.0%) of patients. Using the MGL scale score, the objective adherence with insulin therapy was mostly low to medium and a gross discordance was with self-declared adherence (P < 0.001). The injection technique was fair to poor in half of the participants. Those with good injection techniques also had good adherence to medication (P = 0.025, adjusted odds ratio = 4.4, 95% confidence interval 1.2–16.4). The majority (154, 74.4%) had self-injected insulin, while the remaining were dependent on their home caregivers. Forty percent of the participants used storage practices that were not recommended. The disposal of the used insulin needles was generally unsafe. Conclusions Glycemic control and adherence to insulin administration recommendations were poor. The injection technique needs to be improved and standardized, and methods of safe disposal of sharps need to be developed.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes is a metabolic disorder affecting millions of people globally. The incidence of type 2 diabetes is increasing rapidly in Bhutan. Anecdotal evidences show poor compliance and loss to follow up among the Bhutanese population living with diabetes. This study was conducted to understand the case load, age and gender distribution and compliance to follow up among diabetic patients registered at Central Regional Referral Hospital, Gelephu, Bhutan. MATERIALS & METHOD: All the patients diagnosed and registered with Diabetic Clinic between 1st January 2014 to 31st December 2018 were included in the study.RESULTS: There was a sharp increase in number of registered diabetic patients from 641 cases in 2014 to 1590 cases in 2018. A total of 949 new cases were diagnosed and registered during the study period of which 52% were women. The overall diabetes prevalence under Gelephu CRRH catchment area is found to be 2.91% with lowest at Chhudzom (1.01%) and highest in Samtenling Gewog (3.18%). Lost to follow up among new cases for past four years was found to be 3.96%, 5.0%, 6.47% and 5.85% from 2015 to 2018 respectively.CONCLUSION: The ageing population and sedentary lifestyle has contributed to the sharp escalation of type 2 diabetes cases in Gelephu. The hospital recorded total of 1590 cases in 2018 which is a two-fold increase in case load within a span of five years. The current analysis found that loss to follow up was 3.96%, 5.0%, 6.47% and 5.85% from 2015 to 2018 respectively among new cases of diabetes registered with the hospital.

Introduction: Insulin, despite its increasing cost, is prescribed to selected cases of diabetes patients with an aim to achieve good glycaemic control. However, many on insulin do not achieve glycaemic control. We, therefore, studied the possible factors that may act as barriers to effective self-injection of insulin among diabetes patients at the three referral hospitals in Bhutan. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study, conducted from January-June 2017, involving all patients on insulin therapy for more than three months duration. Convenience sampling was used. Respondents’ basic details and self-reported barriers to insulin therapy under various domains were collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Ethics approval was granted by the Research Ethics Board of Health, Bhutan. Results: There were 207 respondents on insulin therapy. The mean age of the sample was 55 years (±13.8 years) and the mean duration of diabetes was 10.6 years (± 7.8 years). Injection dexterity was an issue in 77 respondents (37.2%) while 37 respondents (17.8%) reported that they would miss their insulin shots if their caregiver were unavailable. Insulin regimens were burdensome and interfered with their daily activities (80; 38.7%) and meal timings (64; 30.9%). Although the majority (179; 86.4%) knew why insulin was indicated for them, 149 (72.0%) found that the healthcare personnel’s demonstration on the use of insulin was inadequate and 50 respondents (24.2%) felt that they did not receive enough information on how to inject insulin. Conclusions: Barriers to self-injection are common among insulin users and coordinated efforts are needed to overcome them.