ABSTRACT
Type 1 diabetes mellitus(T1DM)is a common autoimmune disorder that often presents in children. In these patients, diabetic ketoacidosis(DKA)is one of the most common and serious acute complications, which isassociated with significant morbidity and mortality. The study aimed to assess the clinical profilesand outcomesof children admitted with DKA.Objective:To assess the clinical manifestationsand treatment outcomesof DKA patients in two tertiary hospitals in Addis Ababa. Methods: A hospital-based retrospective analysis was conductedon175 pediatric diabetic ketoacidosis children, who wereadmitted to the emergency units of two hospitalsin Addis Ababafrom September 2015 to February 2020andwhose medical records contained complete pertinent data. Patients were between theages of0 to 12 years.Proportional samples were taken from each hospitaland data wascollected retrospectively using a formatted checklist. The data waschecked for its inclusiveness and enteredEpi Info. version4.6 andthen transferred into SPSS version 25 software for further analysis. Result:DKA was the presenting manifestation of Diabetes in 78.3% of patients and 21.7% were already known cases of Diabetes. Half (50.9%) of the study participants were diagnosed with DKA in the age range of 5 to 10 years and almost one-third (30.9%) were abovethe age of 10. A high-incomelevel of the caretakers wasfound to be protective against DKA during thediagnosis of T1DM. Out of the 175 children admitted, 12 passed on, resulting ina mortality rate of 6.9%.Conclusion: The majority of the known DM patients presented with DKA after the omission of insulin and a newly diagnosed T1DMat first presentation.The age of presentation and clinical symptoms of the studied participantswere likeother international studies. Community education regardingthe signs and symptoms of childhood DM can further prevent the development of DKA.[Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2022; 36(2):000-000]Keywords: Diabetic ketoacidosis, Treatment outcome, and precipitating factors