Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to describe the incidence, temporal trends, and risk factors for diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) admissions in a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) in Saudi Arabia.
Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted between April 2013 and March 2018. A total of 270 PICU admissions were recorded for 159 unique patients. Mean age at admission was 9.6 ± 3.4 years; 63.0% of admissions were females. Data on demographics, clinical presentations, and temporal factors were analyzed.
Results: Most admissions (80.4%) known to have type 1 diabetes mellitus, while 19.6% were newly diagnosed. A subset (36.5%) had multiple admissions. Patients with recurrent admissions presented with higher glucose levels (560.5 vs. 459.2 mg/dl, p-value = 0.037), larger family size (6.2 vs. 4.6 members, p-value = 0.006), and shorter PICU stays (14.1 vs. 19.0 hours, p-value = 0.022). Orphans and children from very large families (≥10 members) had significantly higher recurrence (p-value

Key words: Diabetic ketoacidosis, type 1 diabetes mellitus, pediatric intensive care unit, school vacations, Ramadan, risk factors, Saudi Arabia