Introduction: Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) continues to be a medical emergency, in part because of a rare and devastating complication associated with its treatment, cerebral edema. In children, cerebral edema is the principal cause of mortality, but clinically significant cerebral edema in adults is rare.
Methods and results: We report the case of a 27-year-old male (not previously known to be diabetic) who presented with a first episode of DKA complicated by the development of fatal cerebral edema despite medical treatment.
Conclusion: The pathophysiological mechanisms for cerebral edema associated with DKA occurring in children and adults are believed to be similar and are discussed in this report. However, patients who develop cerebral edema may deteriorate rapidly, and experience with successful treatment has been limited.