Diabetic Coma is a severe emergency in which a person is not conscious because the blood glucose (sugar) is too low or too high.
If the glucose level is too low, the person has hypoglycemia; if the level is too high, the person has hyperglycemia and may develop ketoacidosis.
Patients with diabetes mellitus type 1 are especially prone to Diabetic Coma.
Without performing a blood glucose test, it is difficult to tell with certainty whether the Diabetic Coma is caused by hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia as symptoms are very similar.
Overall, the term diabetic coma refers to the diagnostic dilemma posed when a physician is confronted with an unconscious patient about whom nothing is known except that the person has diabetes.
Studies show that an estimated 2 to 15 percent of people with diabetes will suffer at least one episode of diabetic coma during their lifetimes as a result of severe hypoglycemia.
Diabetic coma was a diagnostic problem before the late 1970s.
But wity the introduction of glucose meters and rapid blood chemistry analyzers it rarely takes more than a few questions, a quick look, and a glucose meter to determine the cause of unconsciousness in a patient with diabetes.
Laboratory confirmation can usually be obtained in half an hour or less for people with Diabetic Coma.
Diabetic people should understand how a diabetic coma can occur and the symptoms to watch out for.
General guidelines should be followed to ensure that the person does not have another Diabetic Coma.
Treatment options for Diabetic Coma:
Ketoacidotic Diabetic Coma : intravenous fluids, insulin and administration of potassium and sodium.
Hyperosmolar Diabetic Coma : plenty of intravenous fluids, insulin, potassium and sodium given as soon as possible.
Hypoglycaemic Diabetic Coma : administration of the hormone glucagon to reverse the effects of insulin, or glucose given intravenously.
Diabetic Coma
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