Abstract:

Objective: Our aim is to determine the severity, clinical features, presence of complications and outcome differences in previously diagnosed and newly diagnosed Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) patients followed up with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) in the pediatric intensive care unit. Material and Methods: This study was conducted retrospectively in a 32-bed tertiary pediatric intensive care unit. The patients were divided into newly diagnosed and previously diagnosed T1DM. All collected data were compared between groups. Results: 107 patients were included into the study. Most of the patients were male (51.4%). Most of the newly diagnosed patients were in the 6-10 age group (49.2%). When patient complaints were evaluated before admission, the complaint of nausea was statistically higher in previously diagnosed DM patients (p=0.041). The complaints of fatigue, polyuria, polydipsia, and weight loss were statistically higher in newly diagnosed Type-1 DM (p value 0.001, 0.001, 0.001, 0.001, respectively). Hypokalemia was statistically higher in the newly diagnosed DM group during diabetic ketoacidosis treatment (p=0.015). Although there was no difference between intensive care durations, total hospitalization days were statistically longer in newly diagnosed DM patients (p values 0.145, 0.007, respectively). All patients survived. Conclusion: The school age group was the most common age group in newly diagnosed T1DM. While polyuria, polydipsia and weight loss are common in newly diagnosed Diabetic Ketoacidosis patients; Vomiting was common in diabetic ketoacidosis patients with previous diagnosis. Trainings, national advertisements, etc. should be done to increase the knowledge level of patients and families about these symptoms and the disease.

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