Connect
MJA
MJA

Consistently high incidence of diabetic ketoacidosis in children with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes

Femke M A P Claessen, Kim Donaghue and Maria Craig
Med J Aust 2012; 197 (4): . || doi: 10.5694/mja12.10686
Published online: 20 August 2012

To the Editor: The incidence of type 1 diabetes (T1D) in children is rising globally, including in Australia.1 Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is the leading cause of diabetes-related deaths in children.2 Clinical manifestations of DKA include dehydration; rapid, deep, sighing (Kussmaul respiration); nausea; vomiting; abdominal pain and a reduced level of consciousness.2 There is an inverse relationship between the frequency of presentation with DKA and background incidence of T1D in a given country,3 suggesting that the diagnosis is more likely to be considered earlier in countries with higher incidence of T1D, such as Australia.


  • Institute of Endocrinology and Diabetes, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, NSW.


Correspondence: m.craig@unsw.edu.au

Competing interests:

No relevant disclosures.

  • 1. Catanzariti L, Faulks K, Moon L, et al. Australia’s national trends in the incidence of Type 1 diabetes in 0–14-year-olds, 2000–2006. Diabet Med 2009; 26: 596–601.
  • 2. Wolfsdorf J, Craig ME, Daneman D, et al. Diabetic ketoacidosis in children and adolescents with diabetes. Pediatr Diabetes 2009; 10 Suppl 12: 118-133.
  • 3. Usher-Smith JA, Thompson MJ, Sharp SJ, Walter FM. Factors associated with the presence of diabetic ketoacidosis at diagnosis of diabetes in children and young adults: a systematic review. BMJ 2011; 343: d4092.
  • 4. Abdul-Rasoul M, Al-Mahdi M, Al-Qattan H, et al. Ketoacidosis at presentation of type 1 diabetes in children in Kuwait: frequency and clinical characteristics. Pediatr Diabetes 2010; 11: 351-356.
  • 5. Craig ME, Twigg SM, Donaghue KC, et al. National evidence-based clinical care guidelines for type 1 diabetes in children, adolescents and adults. Canberra: Department of Health and Ageing, 2011. http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/guidelines/ publications/ext004 (accessed Jul 2012).

Author

remove_circle_outline Delete Author
add_circle_outline Add Author

Comment
Do you have any competing interests to declare? *

I/we agree to assign copyright to the Medical Journal of Australia and agree to the Conditions of publication *
I/we agree to the Terms of use of the Medical Journal of Australia *
Email me when people comment on this article

Online responses are no longer available. Please refer to our instructions for authors page for more information.