Emergency Department Presentations of Diabetic Ketoacidosis in a Large Cohort of Children
Table 3
Comparison by DKA severity stratified by diabetes history.
Newly diagnosed diabetes
DKA severity1
p-Value
Mild
Moderate
Severe
Number of episodes
408
209
181
Age (years)2
10.0 (6.0, 12.0)
10.0 (7.0, 12.0)
9.0 (5.0, 12.0)
0.58
Male sex
202 (49.5)
108 (51.7)
78 (43.1)
0.21
Maternal parental education3
0.03
High school/GED or less
77 (25.8)
38 (23.3)
42 (34.7)
Some college/vocational school
77 (25.8)
43 (26.4)
39 (32.2)
College degree or more
145 (48.5)
82 (50.3)
40 (33.1)
Household income3
0.02
Less than $40,000
79 (26.5)
59 (36.2)
44 (37.3)
$40,000 to $99,999
104 (34.9)
60 (36.8)
45 (38.1)
$100,000 or more
115 (38.6)
44 (27.0)
29 (24.6)
Clinical characteristics
Headache at presentation
37 (9.1)
35 (16.7)
23 (12.7)
0.02
Clinically apparent cerebral injury
0 (0.0)
2 (1.0)
13 (7.2)
<0.001
Previously diagnosed diabetes
Number of episodes
355
311
214
Age (years)2
13.0 (10.0, 15.0)
13.0 (11.0, 15.0)
14.0 (12.0, 16.0)
<0.001
Male sex
156 (43.9)
144 (46.3)
93 (43.5)
0.77
Maternal parental education3
0.13
High school/GED or less
82 (35.0)
91 (37.6)
68 (48.2)
Some college/vocational school
94 (40.2)
87 (36.0)
43 (30.5)
College degree or more
58 (24.8)
64 (26.4)
30 (21.3)
Household income3
0.07
Less than $40,000
113 (47.5)
134 (53.0)
95 (62.5)
$40,000 to $99,999
90 (37.8)
85 (33.6)
43 (28.3)
$100,000 or more
35 (14.7)
34 (13.4)
14 (9.2)
Clinical characteristics
Headache at presentation
94 (26.5)
88 (28.3)
71 (33.2)
0.22
Clinically apparent cerebral injury
1 (0.3)
3 (1.0)
15 (7.0)
<0.001
1DKA severity was defined using the first venous pH obtained: mild (pH > 7.2 to <7.25), moderate (pH > 7.1 to <7.2), and severe (pH < 7.1). For children with no pH documented prior to treatment, serum bicarbonate concentration was used: mild (bicarbonate ≥ 10), moderate (bicarbonate 5 to <10), and severe (bicarbonate < 5). DKA severity was unknown for one newly diagnosed child. 2Mean (25th and 75% percentile) and p-values from Wilcoxon rank sum tests are presented for age; n (%) and p-values from Fisher’s exact tests are presented for all other characteristics. 3Maternal parental education and household income information were not collected for the retrospective cohort; number nonmissing and analyzed were (mild/moderate/severe DKA): (299/163/121) newly diagnosed and (234/242/141) previously diagnosed for maternal parental education, and (298/163/118) newly diagnosed and (238/253/152) previously diagnosed for household income.
