Context

Fig 1: All unwell children should have their blood sugar checked as part of the initial assessment

Young people with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) can present with life threatening complications to the emergency department (ED).

Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) occurs following an absolute or relative deficit in insulin and has a risk of 1-10% per patient per year [1-7]. Mortality is estimated at 0.15-0.3% [8-10] with 60-90% of deaths related to cerebral oedema 11,12].

DKA can also occur as the initial presentation of diabetes in 15-70% of cases13-21.

During this session we will explore the management of this condition with reference to published evidence and national guidelines