DKA
Noun
Meaning
DKA (uncountable)
Initialism of diabetic ketoacidosis.
Examples
DKA is diagnosed with blood and urine tests ; it is distinguished from other, rarer forms of ketoacidosis by the presence of high blood sugar levels.
DKA results from a shortage of insulin ; in response the body switches to burning fatty acids and producing acidic ketone bodies that cause most of the symptoms and complications.
DKA was first described in 1886; until the introduction of insulin therapy in the 1920s, it was almost universally fatal.
It is more likely in those with more severe DKA, and in the first episode of DKA.
Ketonuria Having ketone bodies in the urine; a warning sign of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA).
Potassium Potassium levels can fluctuate severely during the treatment of DKA, because insulin decreases potassium levels in the blood by redistributing it into cells via increased sodium-potassium pump activity.