Clinical and biochemical profile among children admitted with diabetic ketoacidosis and their correlation in prognosis of children admitted in pediatric intensive care unit

Background: The present study aimed to analyse clinical and biochemical profile among children admitted with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and their correlation in prognosis of children admitted in PICU.Methods: The prospective study was conducted in pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) of RNT medical college, Udaipur among 50 DKA children in the age group of (1 month-18 years) for a period of one year after approval of institutional ethics committee. In the study, HbA1c level was measured by automated analyzer method to find out the past 3-month duration of glycemic control. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to find the correlation between serum osmolality and GCS, serum osmolality and duration of hospital stay, correlation between HbA1c levels and GCS, HbA1c levels and duration of hospital stay.Result: The most common presenting complaint was respiratory distress (72%) followed by vomiting (54%), polyuria (34%), polydipsia (24%), pain in abdomen (24%), fever (24%) and polyphagia (4%). There was negative correlation between HbA1c and depressed sensorium, i.e. patients with higher HbA1c levels had poor GCS and it was statistically significant. Patients with higher HbA1c levels had longer duration of hospital stay, although this observation was not statistically significant. Conclusions: The present study concluded that patients presenting with DKA had severe derangement in acid-base parameters. The DKA patients who had higher serum osmolality and poor glycemic control had depressed sensorium at the time of hospital admission and a longer recovery time leading to a prolonged hospital stay, adding to the morbidity associated with the disease.