RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Characteristics of pediatric diabetic ketoacidosis patients in Saudi Arabia
JF Saudi Medical Journal
JO Saudi Med J
FD Prince Sultan Military Medical City
SP 20
OP 25
DO 10.15537/smj.2015.1.9763
VO 36
IS 1
A1 Naeem, Mohammed A.
A1 Al-Alem, Hala A.
A1 Al-Dubayee, Mohammed S.
A1 Al-Juraibah, Fahad N.
A1 Omair, Amir
A1 Al-Ruwaili, AbdulKarim S.
A1 Al-Saleh, Abdullah M.
YR 2015
UL http://smj.org.sa/content/36/1/20.abstract
AB Objectives: To evaluate the clinical and biochemical characteristics of children with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA).Methods: In this retrospective study conducted between June 2012 and November 2013 at the King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, we evaluated pediatric DKA admissions from 1995-2008 (Phase 1). From the case files, we obtained information related to patients’ age, gender, weight, presenting complaints, serum biochemical profile, and management.Results: This study included 373 DKA admissions with a median age of 11 years (interquartile range [IQR]:8-13). The patients in the subgroup of age more than 10 years old had the highest proportion of admissions (n=250, 67%, p<0.000). The median duration of diagnosis of diabetes mellitus (DM) was 3 years (IQR:2-6). New-onset DM was 47%. Predominant precipitating cause was acute illness, mostly viral syndrome in 22% of all cases, and non-compliance to insulin regimen was in 79% of the diagnosed diabetic cases. Blood glucose, pH, anion gap, serum osmolality, serum potassium, and serum phosphate showed the highest change during the initial 6 hours of management, while trends of serum bicarbonate and blood urea nitrogen demonstrated a predominant change in the initial 12 hours.Conclusion: The notable findings in this study, such as, higher mean age of presentation, high rate of non-compliance to insulin as the cause of precipitation, and a high prevalence of abdominal pain at presentation should be followed up with further comparative studies.