In the recent years we have been observing an increased incidence of type 1 diabetes in children and adolescents. This leads to a more frequent acute complication of type 1 diabetes among children with hyperglycemia. The most common of these is diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), while cerebral edema is the most dangerous. In children with DKA, cerebral edema most often presents with clinical symptoms but may also appear in the so-called “subclinical” form. That is why the search continues for new methods of assessing and monitoring cerebral edema in the course of DKA treatment. Ultrasonographic optic nerve sheath diameter (US ONSD) assessment is performed in various clinical scenarios when cerebral edema is suspected. It is most often performed in adult patients but increasingly often in children. US ONSD assessment is useful in the treatment of DKA in children with type 1 diabetes. This manuscript provides an overview of research results available in PubMed and other available databases on the course of treatment of DKA in children with type 1 diabetes.

The assessment of the body fluid status is one the most challenging tasks in clinical practice. Although there are many methods to assess the body fluid status of patients, none of them is fully satisfactory in contemporary medical sciences. In the article below, we compare the results of measurements performed by experienced and inexperienced examiners based on the inferior vena cava/aorta diameter index in a sonographic hydration assessment. The study enrolled 50 young students at the age of 19–26 (the median age was 22.95) including 27 women and 23 men. The volunteers were examined in the supine position with GE Logiq 7 system and a convex transducer with the frequency of 2–5 MHz. The measurements were performed in the longitudinal and transverse planes by two inexperienced examiners – the authors of this paper, following a four-hour training conducted by an experienced sonographer. The longitudinal values of the inferior vena cava/aorta diameter index obtained in this study were similar to those found in the literature. The reference value for the inferior vena cava/aorta index determined by Kosiak et al., which constituted 1.2 ± 2 SD, for SD = 0.17, was similar to the values obtained by the authors of this paper which equaled 1.2286 ± 2 SD, for SD = 0.2. The article presented below proves that measuring the inferior vena cava/aorta diameter index is not a complex examination and it may be performed by physicians with no sonographic experience. Furthermore, the paper demonstrates that the inferior vena cava/aorta diameter index measured in the transverse plane is similar to the inferior vena cava/aorta diameter index determined in the longitudinal plane. Thus, both measurements may be used interchangeably to assess the hydration status of patients.

The aim of the study was to compare the values of the sonographic inferior vena cava/ aorta index obtained with the transducer placed in the median line and right anterior axillary line.Material and methodsThe study enrolled 45 volunteers, including 33 women, aged 22.5 ± 1.26 with a negative history of circulatory and renal diseases. The study consisted in a sonographic assessment and measurement of the inferior vena cava and aorta by placing the transducer in the anterior median line and right anterior axillary line. The value of the inferior vena cava/aorta index was obtained by calculating the ratio of the diameters of the inferior vena cava and aorta. The diameter measurements were taken by placing the ultrasound transducer in the anterior median line and right anterior axillary line. Two examiners performed the measurement three times and used convex probes of 3.5–5 MHz. Additionally, the subjects’ weight, height and arterial blood pressure were taken.ResultsFollowing a statistical analysis with the use of STATISTICA software, the following values of the inferior vena cava/aorta index were obtained: in the anterior median line – 1.43 ± 0.21, and in the right anterior axillary line – 1.285 ± 0.19. There was no statistically significant difference between the measurements obtained by the two examiners (p = 0.17). A strong correlation was noted between the inferior vena cava/ aorta indices calculated in both sites of transducer placement, which was irrespective of the examiners (the correlation coefficient: r = 0.61 and r = 0.71). The study indicate that the inferior vena cava/aorta index measured in the right anterior axillary line is a simple and reproducible method for determining the body fluid status; the examinations conducted in both sites may be used interchangeably. Further studies are needed to determine reference values for the inferior vena cava/aorta index measured in the right anterior axillary line.