**1. Introduction**

Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), the most common endocrinal emergency remains a life-threat‐ ening condition despite improvements in diabetes care [1]. The mortality and morbidity rates remain high worldwide, especially in developing countries and among non-hospital‐ ized patients [2,3], which highlight the importance of early diagnosis and implementation of effective preventive and management strategies. The adage "The child is not a miniature adult" is most appropriate when considering DKA. The fundamental pathophysiology of DKA is the same in children as in adults; however, the child differs from the adult in a num‐ ber of characteristics which raise some important considerations in management [2].

The purpose of this chapter is to briefly review the pathophysiology of DKA and discuss recommended treatment protocols and current standards of care pertaining to children, ado‐ lescents and adults with type 1 or 2 diabetes presenting with DKA. The information provid‐ ed is based on evidence from published studies and internationally accepted guidelines whenever possible and, when not, supported by expert opinion or consensus [1-5]. Current concepts of cerebral edema, recommendations and strategies for the prediction and preven‐ tion of DKA and hence its complications are finally presented.

The considerations and recommendations included are in agreement with those endorsed by the American Diabetes Association (ADA), Lawson Wilkins Pediatric Endocrine Society (LWPES), European Society for Pediatric Endocrinology (ESPE), and the International Soci‐ ety for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes (ISPAD) [2-5]. Thus, this book chapter will pro‐ vide easy and practical information to guide healthcare professional who manage DKA in all age groups.

© 2013 Abdelghaffar; licensee InTech. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2013 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
