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Diabetic ketoacidosis with cerebral hemorrhage and alpha coma in an adolescent female

  • Zohreh Shoar EMAIL logo , Christopher Dunne , William Yorns , Francesco De Luca and Geoffrey Rezvani
Published/Copyright: March 21, 2013
Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism
From the journal Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism Volume 26 Issue 5-6

Abstract

Background: Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is one of the most common and harmful complications of type 1 diabetes in children. The neurologic morbidities, including seizure activity, motor/sensory deficit, and coma, can be seen secondary to cerebral edema, hemorrhage, or ischemia. Alpha-frequency is a normal 8–13 Hz physiologic electroencephalogram rhythm that is seen most prominently in the occipital region of awake people and is augmented by eye closure. In the comatose patient, alpha-rhythm is not usually seen. Alpha-frequency coma (AC) is a rare finding in comatose patients and is generally associated with a poor prognosis.

Case report: We report an adolescent with severe DKA, intraparenchymal cerebral hemorrhage, and AC, who had a rapid resolution of the neurologic symptoms.

Conclusions: Similar to other reported cases, our case suggests that the prognosis for patients with AC may not be always poor when it is associated with DKA.

Keywords: alpha coma; diabetes complications; diabetic ketoacidosis; cerebral hemorrhage; type 1 diabetes mellitus
Corresponding author: Zohreh Shoar, Section of Endocrinology and Diabetes, St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, Drexel University College of Medicine, 3601 A. Street, Philadelphia, PA 19134, USA, Phone: +1-215-427-8100, Fax: +1-215-427-8105

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Received: 2012-10-11
Accepted: 2012-12-18
Published Online: 2013-03-21
Published in Print: 2013-05-01

©2013 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston

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https://doi.org/10.1515/jpem-2012-0321
Keywords for this article
alpha coma; diabetes complications; diabetic ketoacidosis; cerebral hemorrhage; type 1 diabetes mellitus

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Masthead
  2. Masthead
  3. Editorial
  4. Success has many fathers, failure is orphan
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  6. Normosmic idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism: update on the genetic background and future challenges
  7. Original Articles
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  9. Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and L-arginine levels in children with glycogen storage disease type I
  10. Application of liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry in the diagnosis and follow-up of maple syrup urine disease in a Chinese population
  11. The role of uncoupling protein 2 and 3 genes polymorphism and energy expenditure in obese Indonesian children
  12. Thyroid dysfunctions of prematurity and their impacts on neurodevelopmental outcome1)
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  14. Reference intervals for serum thyroid hormones in preterm hospitalized infants1)
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  16. A risk score for identifying overweight adolescents with dysglycemia in primary care settings1)
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  18. Propionic acidaemia: demographic characteristics and complicationsa
  19. Negative correlation between serum IL-6 level and cardiorespiratory fitness in 10- to 11-year-old boys with increased BMI
  20. Penile length and genital anomalies in Egyptian male newborns: epidemiology and influence of endocrine disruptors
  21. Efficacy of vitamin D loading doses on serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels in school going adolescents: an open label non-randomized prospective trial
  22. Characteristics of infants admitted with hypoglycemia to a neonatal unit
  23. Increasing thyroid-stimulating hormone is associated with impaired glucose metabolism in euthyroid obese children and adolescents
  24. The role of FTO genotype on eating behavior in obese Sardinian children and adolescents
  25. Prevalence of multiple forms of autoimmunity in Egyptian patients with Turner syndrome: relation to karyotype
  26. A novel DAX-1 mutation presented with precocious puberty and hypogonadotropic hypogonadism in different members of a large pedigree
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