Background: In 2013, 382 million people suffered from diabetes globally, with 19.8 million in Africa and a Kenyan prevalence of 4.2%. Poor diabetic related outcomes such as complications, high blood sugar levels have resulted due to inadequate management of the condition. To ensure effective diagnosis, management and monitoring of Type 2 diabetic patients, the healthcare team should adopt and adhere to standard treatment guidelines that are valid and up-to date Objective: To assess the management, monitoring and complications of Type 2 diabetes among adult outpatients at Vihiga County Referral Hospital, Kenya. Methodology: A retrospective cross sectional study design was used to obtain data from 212 patient files selected through a systematic random sampling. Using a pre-designed data collection form, data on patient demographics, blood pressure, blood sugar, weight and complications was collected. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize findings to determine the proportion of adult Type 2 diabetic cases diagnosed, managed and monitored as per the Institute of Clinical Systems Improvement (ICSI) guidelines. Inferential analysis using t-test and chi square test were also carried out to ascertain extent of adherence to the guidelines. Results: Majority of the participants (31.1%) were aged 50 – 59 years (31.1%), and most were female (70.3%). Most, 39.6% had had diabetes for 1 to 5 years. Random blood sugar test was the most used method of diagnosis (58.5%) whilst fasting blood glucose test was performed in 34%. A compliance rate of 72.2% was reported in ensuring metformin was part of first line therapy as recommended. The recommended blood pressure, weight and cholesterol monitoring at initiation of treatment was observed in 96.7, 1.4 and 6.1% of the patients, respectively. Of the 141 patients monitored using fasting blood sugar, 113 (80.1%) had uncontrolled blood sugar levels (median blood sugar = 8.9(IQR.7.4, 12.75) mmol/L; P=0.741). The prevalence of reported neuropathy, retinopathy and nephropathy were 41, 33 and 0.9% respectively. Discussion: The diagnosis, management and monitoring of most patients fell short of the ICSI treatment guideline recommendations especially to monitoring of blood sugar, lipid levels and weight. The presence of anomalies calls for sensitization of healthcare workers on the importance of adoption and adherence to evidence based, up to date treatment guidelines and optimize patient health outcomes. Key words: Type 2 diabetes, treatment guidelines, healthcare provider
