Abstract
Purpose: The ketogenic diet has been successfully used in treatment of pediatric epilepsy for >70 years. Few serious complications caused by the diet have been reported. We report complications that have been experienced by children receiving the ketogenic diet. Methods: In a 22-month period, we treated 52 children with the classic ketogenic diet and monitored them in a prospective manner. Results: Five children (10%) experienced serious adverse events (AE) after initiation of the diet. Four patients (80%) were treated with valproate (VPA) in addition to the diet, as compared with 25 (53%) of the other 47 children. Two patients developed severe hypoproteinemia within 4 weeks of initiation of the diet, and I of them also developed lipemia and hemolytic anemia. A third child developed Fanconi's renal tubular acidosis within 1 month of diet initiation. Two other children manifested marked increases in liver function tests, 1 during the initiation phase and the other 13 months later. Conclusions: Clinicians who wish to use the ketogenic diet must be aware of the potential of serious AE and possible interactions of the diet with VPA.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 744-748 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Epilepsia |
| Volume | 39 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jul 1998 |
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Keywords
- Complications
- Epilepsy
- Ketogenic diet
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Clinical Neurology
- Neuroscience(all)
Cite this
Complications of the ketogenic diet. / Ballaban-Gil, Karen R.; Callahan, C.; O'Dell, C.; Pappo, M.; Moshe, Solomon L.; Shinnar, Shlomo.
In: Epilepsia, Vol. 39, No. 7, 07.1998, p. 744-748.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Complications of the ketogenic diet
AU - Ballaban-Gil, Karen R.
AU - Callahan, C.
AU - O'Dell, C.
AU - Pappo, M.
AU - Moshe, Solomon L.
AU - Shinnar, Shlomo
PY - 1998/7
Y1 - 1998/7
N2 - Purpose: The ketogenic diet has been successfully used in treatment of pediatric epilepsy for >70 years. Few serious complications caused by the diet have been reported. We report complications that have been experienced by children receiving the ketogenic diet. Methods: In a 22-month period, we treated 52 children with the classic ketogenic diet and monitored them in a prospective manner. Results: Five children (10%) experienced serious adverse events (AE) after initiation of the diet. Four patients (80%) were treated with valproate (VPA) in addition to the diet, as compared with 25 (53%) of the other 47 children. Two patients developed severe hypoproteinemia within 4 weeks of initiation of the diet, and I of them also developed lipemia and hemolytic anemia. A third child developed Fanconi's renal tubular acidosis within 1 month of diet initiation. Two other children manifested marked increases in liver function tests, 1 during the initiation phase and the other 13 months later. Conclusions: Clinicians who wish to use the ketogenic diet must be aware of the potential of serious AE and possible interactions of the diet with VPA.
AB - Purpose: The ketogenic diet has been successfully used in treatment of pediatric epilepsy for >70 years. Few serious complications caused by the diet have been reported. We report complications that have been experienced by children receiving the ketogenic diet. Methods: In a 22-month period, we treated 52 children with the classic ketogenic diet and monitored them in a prospective manner. Results: Five children (10%) experienced serious adverse events (AE) after initiation of the diet. Four patients (80%) were treated with valproate (VPA) in addition to the diet, as compared with 25 (53%) of the other 47 children. Two patients developed severe hypoproteinemia within 4 weeks of initiation of the diet, and I of them also developed lipemia and hemolytic anemia. A third child developed Fanconi's renal tubular acidosis within 1 month of diet initiation. Two other children manifested marked increases in liver function tests, 1 during the initiation phase and the other 13 months later. Conclusions: Clinicians who wish to use the ketogenic diet must be aware of the potential of serious AE and possible interactions of the diet with VPA.
KW - Complications
KW - Epilepsy
KW - Ketogenic diet
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U2 - 10.1111/j.1528-1157.1998.tb01160.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1528-1157.1998.tb01160.x
M3 - Article
VL - 39
SP - 744
EP - 748
JO - Epilepsia
JF - Epilepsia
SN - 0013-9580
IS - 7
ER -