Frequency of sub-clinical cerebral edema in children with diabetic ketoacidosis

: Symptomatic cerebral edema occurs in approximately 1% of children with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). However, asymptomatic or subclinical cerebral edema is thought to occur more frequently. Some small studies have found narrowing of the cerebral ventricles indicating cerebral edema in most or all children with DKA, but other studies have not detected narrowing in ventricle size. In this study, we measured the intercaudate width of the frontal horns of the lateral ventricles using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in children with DKA during treatment and after recovery from the DKA episode. We determined the frequency of ventricular narrowing and compared clinical and biochemical data for children with and without ventricular narrowing. Forty‐one children completed the study protocol. The lateral ventricles were significantly smaller during DKA treatment (mean width, 9.3 ± 0.3 vs. 10.2 ± 0.3 mm after recovery from DKA, p