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Old Aug 29, 2007, 10:43 AM
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I'm getting ready to back into town to stay all day with her. She is diabetic and "went" into DKA.

Mechanism
DKA is characterized by hyperglycemia, acidosis, and high levels of circulating ketone bodies. The pathogenesis of DKA is mainly due to acidosis. Excessive production of ketone bodies lowers the pH of the blood; a blood pH below 6.7 is incompatible with life. Onset of DKA may be fairly rapid, often within 24 hours.
A key component of DKA is that there is no or very little circulating insulin so it occurs mainly (but not exclusively) in type 1 diabetes (because type 1 diabetes is characterized by a lack of insulin production in the pancreas). It is much less common in type 2 diabetes because that is closely related to cell insensitivity to insulin, not shortage or absence of insulin. Some type 2 diabetics have lost their own insulin production and must take external insulin; they have some susceptibility to DKA.

Please keep her in your thoughts.....thanks, pat