Hypophosphatemia-induced seizure in a child with diabetic ketoacidosis

Hypophosphatemia: A Common but Overlooked Cause of Cardiac Dysfunction in a Child with DKA

Diabetic ketoacidosis in children is associated with a wide gamut of complications, which can be either disease- or therapy-related. Common complications in children with DKA include cerebral edema, acute kidney injury, hypokalemia, hypoglycemia, etc. As opposed to asymptomatic hypophosphatemia, which is common during the management of DKA, severe symptomatic hypophosphatemia leading to life-threatening complications like rhabdomyolysis, hemolysis, respiratory failure secondary to muscle weakness, and cardiac complications are rare. The authors present a case of a newly diagnosed T1DM patient who, during the course of management, developed severe hypophosphatemia leading to arrhythmias and cardiac dysfunction, which improved with prompt recognition and correction.

Seizures, Vitamin D Deficiency, and Severe Hypophosphatemia: The Unique Presentation of a SARS-CoV-2 Case

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a virus that belongs to the species severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (SARSr-CoV), which is related to the SARS-CoV-1 virus that caused the 2002-2004 SARS outbreak. SARS-CoV-2 causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). It has been associated with electrolyte abnormalities. In this report, we discuss the case of a SARS-CoV-2-infected person presenting with recurrent seizure episodes resulting from hypophosphatemia. A 52-year-old male patient with questionable prior seizure history presented to the emergency department (ED) twice within eight days with recurring seizure episodes. While the physical examination at the first presentation was significant for a head laceration with post-ictal confusion, that at the second presentation was only significant for post-ictal confusion. Laboratory examination at the first visit revealed SARS-CoV-2 positivity, hypokalemia, hypophosphatemia, and low vitamin D levels. On the second visit, the patient was again found to have hypophosphatemia. CT of the head and the cervical spine, as well as radiographs of the chest done on the first visit, were all normal. On his first visit, the patient's electrolyte abnormalities were corrected, and he was discharged with antiepileptic medications after 24 hours of observation and consultation with neurology. However, his vitamin D levels, the results of which came back only after his first discharge, were corrected only during his second visit. This time, he was discharged from the ED and had an effective resolution of symptoms. SARS-CoV-2 infections can result in vitamin D deficiency and hypophosphatemia, resulting in seizures, and hence should be treated with both replacement therapies and antiepileptic medications. This case also highlights the importance of obtaining phosphorus and vitamin D levels in SARS-CoV-2-infected patients with seizures.

The diagnostic utility of hypophosphatemia for differentiating generalized tonic-clonic seizures from syncope in dogs: A case control study

Transient hypophosphatemia is often detected in humans following generalized tonic-clonic seizures (GTCS), and serum phosphorus concentration (sPi) serves as a marker to differentiate GTCS from syncope. The objective of this retrospective study was to assess the usefulness of hypophosphatemia as a diagnostic marker for GTCS in dogs. Eighty-seven and 26 client-owned dogs with GTCS or syncope, respectively, were enrolled. Dogs were included if the episode occurred ≤ 3 h from presentation, and if sPi and serum creatinine (sCr) were measured. Dogs were excluded if aged < 1 year or if sCr exceeded 176.8 μmol/L. There were no group differences in sCr. Hypophosphatemia (sPi ≤ 0.97 mmol/L) occurred in 28 dogs (32%) in the seizure group, and in no dogs in the syncope group. Median sPi was significantly (P < 0.001) lower in the seizure group (1 mmol/L, [range, 0.31-2.87 mmol/L]) compared to the syncope group (1.35 mmol/L [range, 0.97-2.71 mmol/L]). Furthermore, in dogs presented while seizing (n = 24/87; 28%) median sPi was significantly lower compared to those that were not (0.9 mmol/L [range, 0.3-1.74 mmol/L] vs. 1 mmol/L [range, 0.33-2.18 mmol/L], P = 0.050). ROC analysis of sPi as a marker of GTCS yielded an AUC of 0.757 (95% confidence interval 0.667-0.847), with an optimum cutoff point of 0.97 mmol/L, corresponding to specificity and sensitivity levels of 100% and 44%, respectively. In conclusion, sPi may, in certain cases, serve as an additional diagnostic tool to differentiate GTCS from syncope in dogs. Hypophosphatemia, especially with sPi < 0.97 mmol/L, may be useful in clinical practice to rule in GTCS.

A Pooled Analysis of Serum Phosphate Measurements and Potential Hypophosphataemia Events in 45 Interventional Trials with Ferric Carboxymaltose

Ferric carboxymaltose (FCM) has been shown to achieve rapid replenishment of iron stores and correction of anaemia in various populations with iron deficiency. A decrease in serum phosphate (PO43-) levels, which in most cases is asymptomatic, has been reported with IV iron preparations. Hypophosphataemia (HP) is a known adverse drug reaction with FCM. This post hoc pooled analysis investigates the frequency, duration, risk factors, and clinical signs of HP as reported in interventional clinical trials with FCM. Pooled data from subjects enrolled across 45 clinical trials in different therapy areas were included. A three-step adjudication process was utilised to identify adverse events of HP. Stratified analyses by therapy group and stepwise logistic regression analysis were used to identify predictors of HP. This pooled analysis confirms that FCM is associated with increased rates of serum PO43- lowering, but mean serum PO43- values were seen to recover at Week 4 and further recover at Week 8. Among all subjects receiving FCM therapy (n = 6879), 41.4% (n = 2847) reached a PO43- nadir value <2.5 mg/dL at any point on study and 0.7% (n = 49) reached a nadir <1 mg/dL. Although gastroenterology and women's health subjects were identified to be at higher risk, occurrence of severe HP (<1 mg/dL [0.3 mmol/L]) following FCM administration was not observed to be common among subjects in these studies. Furthermore, there was no correlation between laboratory serum PO43- values and the occurrence of reported adverse events related to low PO43- levels.

Hypophosphatemia in critically ill adults and children - A systematic review

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Phosphate is the main intracellular anion essential for numerous biological processes. Symptoms of hypophosphatemia are non-specific, yet potentially life-threatening. This systematic review process was initiated to gain a global insight into hypophosphatemia, associated morbidity and treatments.

METHODS

A systematic review was conducted (PROSPERO CRD42020163191). Nine clinically relevant questions were generated, seven for adult and two for pediatric critically ill patients, and prevalence of hypophosphatemia was assessed in both groups. We identified trials through systematic searches of Medline, EMBASE, Scopus, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, CINAHL, and Web of Science. Quality assessment was performed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool for randomized controlled trials and the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale for observational studies.

RESULTS

For all research questions, we identified 2727 titles in total, assessed 399 full texts, and retained 82 full texts for evidence synthesis, with 20 of them identified for several research questions. Only 3 randomized controlled trials were identified with two of them published only in abstract form, as well as 28 prospective and 31 retrospective studies, and 20 case reports. Relevant risk of bias regarding selection and comparability was identified for most of the studies. No meta-analysis could be performed. The prevalence of hypophosphatemia varied substantially in critically ill adults and children, but no study assessed consecutive admissions to intensive care. In both critically ill adults and children, several studies report that hypophosphatemia is associated with worse outcome (prolonged length of stay and the need for respiratory support, and higher mortality). However, there was insufficient evidence regarding the optimal threshold upon which hypophosphatemia becomes critical and requires treatment. We found no studies regarding the optimal frequency of phosphate measurements, and regarding the time window to correct hypophosphatemia. In adults, nutrient restriction on top of phosphate repletion in patients with refeeding syndrome may improve survival, although evidence is weak.

CONCLUSIONS

Evidence on the definition, outcome and treatment of clinically relevant hypophosphatemia in critically ill adults and children is scarce and does not allow answering clinically relevant questions. High quality clinical research is crucial for the development of respective guidelines.

Ventricular bigeminy and trigeminy caused by hypophosphataemia during diabetic ketoacidosis treatment: a case report

Background

Hypophosphatemia has many causes, and is often encountered during DKA (Diabetic Ketoacidosis) treatment. However, it rarely requires clinical intervention.

Case presentation

Ventricular arrhythmia was observed in a 10-year-old girl with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes mellitus and hypophosphatemia while undergoing treatment for ketoacidosis. Oral phosphate supplementation ceased ventricular arrhythmia almost completely.

Conclusions

The clinical signs of hypophosphatemia are potentially life-threatening. Therefore, physicians should be vigilant when treating patients who are at risk of hypophosphatemia. Severe hypophosphatemia accompanied by clinical symptoms requires oral or intravenous supplementation of phosphate.

Respiratory failure in a diabetic ketoacidosis patient with severe hypophosphatemia

Phosphate is essential in regulating human metabolic processes, and severe hypophosphatemia can induce neurologic and hematological complications and result in respiratory failure and cardiac dysfunction. Therefore, correction of severe hypophosphatemia can be pivotal in the management of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). We report the case of a 14-year-old female who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and referred to our institute for treatment of DKA. Although the patient received fluid and continuous insulin administration according to the current DKA treatment protocol, generalized tonic seizures and cardiac arrest developed. After cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the patient recovered and was stable. Within 16 hours after DKA treatment, the patient developed respiratory failure with severe hypophosphatemia that required mechanical ventilation. Concurrent neurologic evaluation revealed no specific abnormalities. The patient recovered without any complications after correcting the hypophosphatemia. We suggest vigilant monitoring of the phosphate level in DKA patients and active replacement when required.

Severe diabetic ketoacidosis complicated by hypocapnic seizure

In clinical practice, seizures independent of hypoglycemia are observed in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) more frequently than expected by chance, suggesting a link. However, seizures during management of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) have generally been considered a bad prognostic factor, and usually associated with well-known biochemical or neurological complications. We present the case of a 17-year-old girl with known T1DM managed for severe DKA complicated by hypocapnic seizure. We review the literature on this rare occurrence as well as outline other possible differentials to consider when faced with the alarming combination of DKA and seizure.

Seizures in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit: A Prospective Study

BACKGROUND

The aim of the research is to determine the etiology and clinical features of seizures in critically ill children admitted to a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).

METHODS

A total of 203 children were admitted from June 2013 to November 2013; 45 patients were eligible. Age ranged from 2 months to 19 years. Seizures were organized as epileptic or acute symptomatic. Pediatric risk of mortality score III, Glasgow coma scale, risk factors, coexistent diagnosis, medications administered before admission, type and duration of seizures, drugs used, requirement and duration of mechanical ventilation, length of stay and neuroimaging findings were collected as demographic data prospectively.

RESULTS

The male-female ratio was 0.8. Mean age was 5.4. The most common causes of seizures were acute symptomatic. Most frequent coexistent diagnosis was infectious diseases, and 53.3% had recurrent seizures. Medications were administered to 51.1% of the patients before admission. Seizures were focal in 21 (46.7%), generalized in 11 (24.4%) and 13 (28.9%) had status epilepticus. Intravenous midazolam was first-line therapy in 48.9%. Acute symptomatic seizures were usually new-onset, and duration was shorter. Epileptic seizures tended to be recurrent and were likely to progress to status epilepticus. However, type of seizures did not change severity of the disease. Also, laboratory test results, medications administered before admission, requirement and duration of ventilation, mortality and length of stay were not significant between epileptic/acute symptomatic patients.

CONCLUSION

Seizures in critically ill children, which may evolve into status epilepticus, is an important condition that requires attention regardless of cause. Intensified educational programs for PICU physicians and international guidelines are necessary for a more efficient approach to children with seizures.

Respiratory failure in diabetic ketoacidosis

Respiratory failure complicating the course of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a source of increased morbidity and mortality. Detection of respiratory failure in DKA requires focused clinical monitoring, careful interpretation of arterial blood gases, and investigation for conditions that can affect adversely the respiration. Conditions that compromise respiratory function caused by DKA can be detected at presentation but are usually more prevalent during treatment. These conditions include deficits of potassium, magnesium and phosphate and hydrostatic or non-hydrostatic pulmonary edema. Conditions not caused by DKA that can worsen respiratory function under the added stress of DKA include infections of the respiratory system, pre-existing respiratory or neuromuscular disease and miscellaneous other conditions. Prompt recognition and management of the conditions that can lead to respiratory failure in DKA may prevent respiratory failure and improve mortality from DKA.

Intravenous iron administration and hypophosphatemia in clinical practice

Introduction. Parenteral iron formulations are frequently used to correct iron deficiency anemia (IDA) and iron deficiency (ID). Intravenous formulation efficacy on ferritin and hemoglobin level improvement is greater than that of oral formulations while they are associated with lower gastrointestinal side effects. Ferric carboxymaltose- (FCM-) related hypophosphatemia is frequent and appears without clinical significance. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence, duration, and potential consequences of hypophosphatemia after iron injection. Patients and Methods. The medical records of all patients who underwent parenteral iron injection between 2012 and 2014 were retrospectively reviewed. Pre- and postinjection hemoglobin, ferritin, plasma phosphate, creatinine, and vitamin D levels were assessed. Patients who developed moderate (range: 0.32–0.80 mmol/L) or severe (<0.32 mmol/L) hypophosphatemia were questioned for symptoms. Results. During the study period, 234 patients received iron preparations but 104 were excluded because of missing data. Among the 130 patients included, 52 received iron sucrose (FS) and 78 FCM formulations. Among FS-treated patients, 22% developed hypophosphatemia versus 51% of FCM-treated patients, including 13% who developed profound hypophosphatemia. Hypophosphatemia severity correlated with the dose of FCM (p = 0.04) but not with the initial ferritin, hemoglobin, or vitamin D level. Mean hypophosphatemia duration was 6 months. No immediate clinical consequence was found except for persistent fatigue despite anemia correction in some patients. Conclusions. Hypophosphatemia is frequent after parenteral FCM injection and may have clinical consequences, including persistent fatigue. Further studies of chronic hypophosphatemia long-term consequences, especially bone assessments, are needed.

Changes in serum phosphate during treatment of diabetic ketoacidosis: predictive significance of severity of acidosis on presentation

Changes in serum phosphate during diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) treatment are not well characterised, although it is known that serum phosphate falls with treatment. We sought to define the nature of these changes and whether the severity of acidosis on admission influenced the severity of subsequent hypophosphataemia. We retrospectively reviewed data on all patients with confirmed DKA presenting to our unit between 2007 and 2010 inclusive. Forty-three patients with 64 episodes of DKA were evaluated. At presentation, 62.5% of patient episodes were hyperphosphataemic. Initial serum phosphate in all patient episodes correlated significantly with the initial serum creatinine (r = 0.694, P < 0.01) and the initial blood glucose (r = 0.593, P < 0.01). Serum phosphate fell during the course of treatment in all episodes (mean absolute fall 1.28 ± 0.77 (SEM) mmol/L). The mean nadir phosphate was 0.58 ± 0.19 mmol/L. Ninety per cent of nadir phosphate levels were hypophosphataemic (<0.8 mmol/L), and 11% were severely hypophosphataemic (<0.32 mmol/L). Mean initial bicarbonate differed significantly between those with nadir phosphates <0.5 mmol/L (9.26 ± 4.55) and those with nadir phosphates >0.5 mmol/L (13.0 ± 4.59, P = 0.0031). Similar significant bicarbonate differences were noted between those with nadir phosphates less than and more than 0.32 mmol/L respectively (7.42 ± 2.44 and 12.2 ± 4.87, P < 0.01). The initial hyperphosphataemia is reflective of intravascular volume depletion and pre-renal renal impairment. The severity of subsequent hypophosphataemia can be predicted by the degree of metabolic acidosis on presentation. As profound hypophosphataemia can be associated with serious complications, clinicians should recognise the likelihood of this biochemical derangement in those DKA patients presenting with profound acidosis.

Association of epilepsy and type 1 diabetes mellitus in children and adolescents: is there an increased risk for diabetic ketoacidosis?

OBJECTIVE

To estimate the prevalence of epilepsy and possible risk factors in children and adolescents with diabetes mellitus.

STUDY DESIGN

We conducted an observational cohort study based on the Diabetes Patienten Verlaufsdokumentation database including data from 45 851 patients (52% male) with type 1 diabetes mellitus, age 13.9 ± 4.3 years (mean ± SD) and duration of diabetes mellitus 5.4 ± 4.2 years. The database was searched for the concomitant diagnosis of epilepsy or epileptic convulsions and for antiepileptic medication.

RESULTS

A total of 705 patients with epilepsy were identified, giving a prevalence of 15.5 of 1000. A total of 375 patients were treated with antiepileptic medication, and 330 patients were without anticonvulsive therapy. Patients with epilepsy were younger at onset of diabetes mellitus and shorter than patients without epilepsy, and their weight and body mass index were comparable. No difference could be demonstrated for metabolic control, type of insulin treatment, insulin dose, and prevalence of B-cell specific autoantibodies. The frequency of severe hypoglycemia was lower in patients treated with antiepileptic medication. The risk for diabetic ketoacidosis was almost double in patients with epilepsy compared with patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus alone (P < .01).

CONCLUSION

Children and adolescents with diabetes mellitus show an increased prevalence of epileptic seizures. For unknown reasons, there is an association between epilepsy and diabetic ketoacidosis in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

[Hypophosphatemia complicated with neurological manifestations during hematopoietic reconstitution]

We report the case of a 52-year-old woman who developed neurological manifestations secondary to severe hypophosphatemia during hematopoietic reconstitution after induction for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. A high cellular uptake of phosphate may be seen in situations with a rapid cell proliferation such as hematopoietic reconstitution, and phosphatemia should be carefully monitored in such situations.

Disturbance of inorganic phosphate metabolism in diabetes mellitus: clinical manifestations of phosphorus-depletion syndrome during recovery from diabetic ketoacidosis

The acute effects of intracellular phosphate depletion and hypophosphatemia on organs and tissues in and during recovery from diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) have been reviewed. When insufficient phosphate and/or oxygen are available for high energy phosphate synthesis, cell homeostasis cannot be maintained and cell integrity may be impaired. The clinical consequences are recognized as occasional cause of morbidity and mortality. Although phosphate repletion has not been routinely recommended in the treatment of DKA, physicians should be aware of these clinical conditions and phosphate repletion in such situations should be considered.