Diabetic ketoacidosis

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In medicine, diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a type of metabolic acidosis that is a "life-threatening complication of diabetes mellitus, primarily of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus with severe insulin deficiency and extreme hyperglycemia. It is characterized by excessive lipolysis, oxidation of fatty acids, production of ketone bodies, a sweet smell to the breath (ketosis;) dehydration; and depressed consciousness leading to coma.[1]

As is treated, DKA converts from a high anion gap metabolic acidosis to a normal anion gap metabolic acidosis due to "excretion of ketone anions in the urine"[2], especially if excreted with sodium or potassium cations.

References

  1. Anonymous (2024), Diabetic ketoacidosis (English). Medical Subject Headings. U.S. National Library of Medicine.
  2. Oh MS, Carroll HJ, Goldstein DA, Fein IA (December 1978). "Hyperchloremic acidosis during the recovery phase of diabetic ketosis". Ann. Intern. Med. 89 (6): 925–7. PMID 102229[e]