Cerebral Oedema in Diabetic Ketoacidosis

Abstract

Modern management of diabetic ketoacidosis has reduced mortality of this condition from inevitable death in the pre-insulin era to less than 5% in specialised centres.^1,2,3,4 Most fatalities now reflect the underlying disease which has caused metabolic decompensation, such as acute myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular accident or septicaemia.⁵ However patients may still die as a direct result of the metabolic disturbances per se and the rare complication of cerebral oedema in diabetic ketoacidosis is almost invariably associated with fatal outcome.^6,7,8,9