DIABETIC-KETOACIDOSIS IN ADULTS - CLINICAL AND LABORATORY FEATURES

In this retrospective study, we report the clinical and biochemical fe atures of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) in adult patients who were manag ed at the Instituto Nacional de la Nutricion during a 6.5 year period, There were 98 episodes in 46 patients: 22 females (48%) and 24 males (52%), Six patients (13%) had four or more episodes of DKA, Thirty fiv e percent of the events occurred in patients with IDDM; 48% in ''late onset'' NIDDM: 9% in ''early onset'' and 9% in classical NIDDM, Infect ions as the precipitating factor in 41% of episodes of DKA were the in itial manifestation of diabetes, We compared our results with those fr om other reported series, finding no differences among them, The mean anion gap in our series was 30.4, Main complications identified were h ypokalemia in five cases, hypoglycemia in four cases, hypernatremia in four cases, and acute pulmonary edema, ventricular fibrillation, neur ological deficit and coma in one case each, There were three deaths (6 .5%) in the whole group, To our knowledge, this is the largest series on adult patients with DKA reported in our country in the last decade, The obtained results may help evaluate prospectively the impact of di fferent diagnostic and therapeutic strategies in the management of DKA .