New perspectives on the pathogenesis of cerebral edema complicating diabetic ketoacidosis in children.

Cerebral edema is a serious complication of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) in children and is the most frequent diabetes-related cause of death in this age group. Many theories have been proposed to explain the pathogenesis of this complication, but data from the literature have not clearly supported any particular theory and DKA-related cerebral edema remains poorly understood. The question of whether DKA treatment may play a role in causing or exacerbating cerebral edema has been particularly controversial. Recent data have provided helpful evidence in favor or against various theories of pathogenesis and these data are the topic of the current review.