A combination of acidosis and ketosis.
n. a condition in which *acidosis is accompanied by *ketosis, such as occurs in diabetes mellitus (see diabetic ketoacidosis). Symptoms include nausea and vomiting, abdominal tenderness, confusion or coma, extreme thirst, and weight loss.
(DKA) a metabolic state resulting from a profound lack of insulin, usually found only in type 1 *diabetes mellitus but sometimes arising in people of Afro-Caribbean ethnicity with type 2 diabetes. Inability to inhibit glucose production from the liver results in *hyperglycaemia, which can be extreme and lead to severe dehydration. The concurrent failure to suppress fatty-acid production from adipose tissue results in the excess conversion of fatty acids to ketones in the liver (*ketosis) and the development of a metabolic *acidosis, which can be severe. Patients often present with vomiting (from the ketosis), which contributes to the dehydration. The condition is treated as a medical emergency with intravenous fluid and insulin; patients should be monitored in high-dependency units.... diabetic ketoacidosis
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