• Nagham Alsolaimani, Mawadah Kattan, Zahia Algabbani, Ghram Awlia, Yara Alhamdani, and Abdulmoien AlAgha.
• From the Department of Medicine (Alsolaimani, Kattan, Algabbani, Awlia), Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University; and form the Department of Pediatrics (Alhamdani, AlAgha), Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
• Saudi Med J. 2024 Dec 1; 45 (12): 132613331326-1333.

ObjectivesTo compare the demographic, clinical, and biochemical characteristics of newly diagnosed versus known patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) presenting with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) in a tertiary care center in the Western region of Saudi Arabia.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed 147 children and adolescents diagnosed with T1DM who presented with DKAs between January 2019 and December 2023. Data on age, gender, nationality, economic status, episode severity, presenting symptoms, and biochemical markers were collected and analyzed.ResultsThe mean patient age was 7.24 years, with known patients being older (mean age: 8.24 years) than newly diagnosed patients (mean age: 6.34 years). Most patients (55.8%) belonged to the middle-childhood age group (6 to 11 years). Among known patients, the most prevalent symptoms included vomiting, reported by 62 (88.6%) individuals, and abdominal pain, which affected 55 (78.6%). In contrast, new patients exhibited a strikingly high incidence of polyuria, with 68 (88.3%) cases, and polydipsia, affecting 65 (84.4%) individuals.ConclusionThe DKA incidence was higher in newly diagnosed patients, particularly in the middle-childhood age group. Economic factors may contribute to disease manifestations, and newly diagnosed patients had longer DKA symptom durations. The higher DKA incidence and severity in newly diagnosed patients, particularly in certain age groups, underscores the importance of increased disease awareness and early diagnosis.Copyright: © Saudi Medical Journal.

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