• Ahmed M Ahmed, Omar F Khabour, Samia M Ahmed, Ibrahim A Alebaid, and Amna M Ibrahim.
• Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Taibah University, AL-Madinah, Saudi Arabia.
• Afr Health Sci. 2020 Jun 1; 20 (2): 841-848.

BackgroundDiabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a potentially life threatening acute complication of Type I diabetes mellitus (T1DM). This study aimed to determine the frequency and clinical characteristics of pediatric DKA at diagnosis of new-onset T1DM in Khartoum during 2000-2017 period.MethodsThe study was retrospective and involved review of medical files of children (<15 years) with T1DM in the city hospitals and diabetes centers.ResultsThe overall frequency of DKA among T1DM children at onset of disease diagnosis was 17.6% (173/982). The episodes of DKA increased from 26% in first 6- year period (2000-2005) to 46.3% in the last 6-year period (2011-2012; p<0.001). No significant difference in the frequency of DKA was observed according to gender (p=0.9) and age (p=0.24). Compared to other age groups, the severity of DKA (pH<7.1) was higher in pre-school children (p<0.01). Approximately, 5% of patients were complicated with cerebral edema with a mortality rate of 1.7%.ConclusionThe DKA frequency at diagnosis of childhood T1DM in Khartoum was lower than previous reports. In addition, the severity of DKA was high among pre-school age children with a relatively high mortality rate when compared to the global rate.© 2020 Ahmed AM et al.

31 keywords...

hide…