Diabetic ketoacidosis and severe hypertriglyceridaemia in a child

Abstract

Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) in children with severe hypertriglyceridaemia (S-HTG) is infrequent. This case report presents a seven-year-old girl without a family history of dyslipidaemia with moderate DKA, lipaemic plasma, retinal lipaemia, and P-triglyceride 185 mmol/l. The course was uneventful on standard treatment and lipids normalized. She had abdominal pain but no biochemical or ultrasound evidence of pancreatitis. S-HTG affected laboratory analysis; CO2 could not be analyzed, and there was haemolysis and uncertain electrolyte results with P-Na+ 125 mmol/l, i.e. pseudo hyponatraemia, despite ultracentrifugation.