The occurrence of diabetic ketoacidosis in adults

Objectives To analyze the occurrence of DKA in Chinese adults. Methods and Patients We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of adu lts presenting with DKA in a tertiary referral center from January 1992 to December 1997, We classified these patients into 3 groups: type 1, type 2 a nd new-onset diabetes, Clinical features and follow-up treatment were analy zed, Results One hundred and twenty patients with 141 episodes of DKA were inclu ded; 77 episodes (54,6%) were classified as being caused by type 2, 32 (22. 7%) by type I and 32 (22.7%) by new-onset DM. The average age of type 2 pat ients was significantly higher. Of the 25 new-onset patients with follow-up for at Beast 12 months, PI were not taking insulin, Of these 11 patients;, 6 had a family history of Dha and 5 had BMI greater than 26,4 kg/m(2), The fasting plasma C-peptide values at various times of follow-up varied from 2.3 to 9.5 ng/ml in 6 of the 11 DKA-onset patients. Conclusion In type 2 patients, the occurrence of DKA is usually associated with old age and another severe illness. "DKA-onset type 2 DM" reported in African-Americans and In Japanese is also observed in Chinese.