title: Treatment practices of diabetic ketoacidosis at a large teaching hospital.
abstract: A retrospective chart review of 55 medical records of adults treated for diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) identified areas of treatment that delayed the improvement of DKA. There was a positive correlation between time to initiation of insulin infusion and resolution of anion gap. Sixty-six percent of cases did not have the recommended overlap between intravenous and subcutaneous insulin. Opportunity exists to educate nurses as experts to partner with their physician colleagues to manage DKA.
authors.affiliation: Eastern Connecticut Health Network, Manchester, Connecticut 06040, USA. rferreri@mac.com
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ferreri
mesh_terms: D000136:Acid-Base Equilibrium; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D019985:Benchmarking; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D016883:Diabetic Ketoacidosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000628:therapy*; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D019983:Guideline Adherence / Q000592:standards*; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D007279:Injections, Subcutaneous; D007328:Insulin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008485:Medical Audit; D008875:Middle Aged; D009511:New England; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000592:standards*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents; D007328:Insulin