Clinical Practice and Cases in Emergency Medicine (Aug 2021)

Euglycemic Diabetic Ketoacidosis in Type 1 Diabetes on Insulin Pump, with Acute Appendicitis: A Case Report

  • Brian D. Thompson,
  • Anthony Kitchen

DOI
https://doi.org/10.5811/cpcem.2021.1.48905
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 5, no. 3

Abstract

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Introduction: Recently, euglycemic diabetic ketoacidosis has been an increasing topic of discussion within emergency medicine literature. Euglycemic diabetic ketoacidosis can easily be missed, as a normal point-of-care glucose often mistakenly precludes the work-up of diabetic ketoacidosis. Case Report: A 16-year-old female with a past medical history of type 1 diabetes presented to the emergency department with altered mental status, vomiting, and abdominal pain. She was diagnosed with euglycemic diabetic ketoacidosis. Conclusion: Reported cases of euglycemic diabetic ketoacidosis are most frequently attributed to sodium glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors, but other potential causes have been discussed in the literature. In this patient, a starvation state with continued insulin use in the setting of acute appendicitis led to her condition.