September 22, 2014

Thus far we have discussed resuscitation in trauma and sepsis.  What distinguishes those two from the resuscitation goals in DKA is timing.  In trauma and sepsis, it’s all about early recognition, aggressive and quick optimization, and understanding all the possible treatment options at your disposal.  In the management of DKA, it’s quite the opposite.  If you remember anything from this discussion, it’s that slow and steady wins the race!  In fact, overaggressive resuscitation is what leads to the most significant morbidity and mortality in DKA patients.  Patients in DKA don’t die from the disease process – they die because we kill them! […]