Impact of Ramadan Focused Education Program on medications adjustment for patients with type 2 diabetes in a primary health care institution in Saudi Arabia.

AIMS: To examine the impact of Ramadan Focused Education Program (RFEP) on medications adjustment in type 2 diabetes patients in Ramadan. METHODS: This is a controlled, intervention based study. It was run on three phases: before, during, and after Ramadan on 262 type 2 diabetes patients. The intervention group (n = 140) received RFEP on medications doses & timing adjustment before and after Ramadan, while the control group (n = 122) received standard care. RESULTS: The dose of insulin glargine was reduced from 42.51 ±â€¯22.16 at the baseline to 40.11 ±â€¯18.51-units during Ramadan (p = 0.002) in the intervention group while it remained the same in the control group before Ramadan and during Ramadan (38.51 ±â€¯18.63 and 38.14 ±â€¯18.46, P = 0.428, respectively). The hypoglycemia score was 14.2 ± (8.5) pre-Ramadan in the intervention and reduced to 6.36 ±â€¯6.17 during Ramadan (p < 0.001) while in the control group, no significant changes were noted before and during Ramadan (14.01 ±â€¯5.10 versus 13.46 ±â€¯5.30). CONCLUSIONS: Ramadan Focused Education Program done at a primary healthcare setting had a positive impact on medication adjustment for dose and timing during fasting in Ramadan in diabetic patients, and it can be a useful tool to achieve better outcomes; less hypoglycemia and safe fasting among T2D patients during Ramadan.

Hypoglycemia in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus patients: A review article.

Hypoglycemia is an essential issue for diabetic patients and considered a limiting factor in the glycemic management. Heterogeneity of the diseases in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus can affect the frequency of hypoglycemia, especially when the patient has cardiovascular diseases. There are several factors that lead to hypoglycemia including sulfonylurea therapy, insulin therapy, delaying or missing a meal, physical exercise, or alcohol consumption. Long-term studies reported that repeated hypoglycemia could increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases. During Ramadan fasting, diabetic patients have high incidence of hypoglycemia. Therefore, focused education about hypoglycemia in routine life of diabetic patients and during fasting in Ramadan is important to reduce the complications.