The Accuracy of Clinical Assessment of Dehydration During Diabetic Ketoacidosis in Childhood

Abstract

The objective of this study was to examine the accuracy of the assessment of clinical dehydration in children with type 1 diabetes and diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). DKA remains the single most common cause of diabetes-related death in childhood (1). Accurate assessment and management of dehydration is the cornerstone of DKA treatment (1,2). The assessment of the degree of dehydration has traditionally been according to clinical criteria including peripheral tissue perfusion and indicators of hemodynamic status (3). The clinical assessment of dehydration in children in common nonacidotic states (e.g., gastroenteritis) has been previously shown (4) to overestimate the degree of dehydration by ∼3.2%. There have been no comparable studies in either DKA or any other form of metabolic acidosis. We studied a random convenience sample of 37 children with type 1 diabetes, newly or previously diagnosed, who presented to the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, with DKA. The patients were all <18 years of age and presented to the emergency department at Royal Children’s Hospital between 1996 and 2000. The study entry criteria were pH <7.30 (capillary, venous, or arterial) and/or bicarbonate <15 mmol/l and ketones in the urine on dipstick testing. The following information was recorded by the primary assessing doctor: newly diagnosed or established diabetes, age, sex, date and time seen, heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, pale and/or cool hands and feet, peripheral capillary refill time, reduced skin …