This study investigated whether a specialised intervention programme could improve diabetes-related health outcomes in indigent patients with type 1 diabetes who were prone to occurrence of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). Patients (n=115) with type 1 diabetes mellitus admitted because of DKA during a 24-month period were invited to receive outpatient care in a diabetes treatment unit (DTU). DKA-related readmission rates, change in haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) values, and diabetes-related medical costs were compared in patients who participated in the DTU programme (+DTU) and in those who did not (-DTU). They concluded that this relatively low-cost intervention by a dedicated outpatient diabetes treatment unit resulted in significant decreases in DKA-associated readmissions, in HbA1c values, and in costs of diabetes care in a multiethnic, indigent, ketosis-prone patient population (Maldonado et al 2003).
