About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Complications
By Mayo Clinic staffDiabetic ketoacidosis is treated with fluids, electrolytes — such as sodium, potassium and chloride — and insulin. Perhaps surprisingly, the most common complications of diabetic ketoacidosis are related to this lifesaving treatment:
- Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). Insulin allows sugar to enter your cells. This causes your blood sugar level to drop. If your blood sugar level drops too quickly, you may develop low blood sugar.
- Low potassium (hypokalemia). The fluids and insulin used to treat diabetic ketoacidosis may cause your potassium level to drop too low. A low potassium level can impair the activities of your heart, muscles and nerves.
- Swelling in the brain (cerebral edema). Adjusting your blood sugar level too quickly can produce swelling in your brain. This complication appears to be more common in children, especially those who have newly diagnosed diabetes.
Left untreated, the risks are much greater. Diabetic ketoacidosis can lead to loss of consciousness. Eventually, diabetic ketoacidosis can be fatal.
- Ketoacidosis (DKA). American Diabetes Association. http://www.diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/complications/ketoacidosis-dka.html. Accessed March 31, 2010.
- Ferri FF. Diabetic ketoacidosis. In: Ferri FF. Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2010. St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/192147260-3/0/2088/189.html#4-u1.0-B978-0-323-05609-0..00013-7--sc0070_3802. Accessed March 31, 2010.
- Eisenbarth GS, et al. Type 1 diabetes mellitus. In: Kronenberg HM, et al. Kronenberg: Williams Textbook of Endocrinology. 11th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/192147260-3/0/1555/195.html?tocnode=54108733&fromURL=195.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2911-3..50033-9--cesec72_2996. Accessed March 31, 2010.
- Fogel N, et al. Management of diabetic ketoacidosis in the emergency department. Clinical Pediatric Emergency Medicine. 2009;10:246.
- Checking for ketones. American Diabetes Association. http://www.diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/treatment-and-care/blood-glucose-control/checking-for-ketones.html. Accessed March 31, 2010.
- If you have diabetes, know your blood sugar numbers! National Diabetes Education Program. http://www.ndep.nih.gov/media/KnowNumbers_Eng.pdf. Accessed March 31, 2010.
- Kitabchi A, et al. Clinical features and diagnosis of diabetic ketoacidosis and hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 31, 2010.
- Collazo-Clavell, ML (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. April 20, 2010.
Find Mayo Clinic on