Association of Hypoglycemia With the Time to Dextrose in Treatment of Diabetes-Related Ketoacidosis

Guidelines for the treatment of diabetes-related ketoacidosis (DKA) recommend adding i.v. dextrose or enteral glucose when a patient’s blood glucose level has decreased sufficiently to help prevent hypoglycemia. This study sought to determine whether a delay in this intervention was associated with a higher incidence of hypoglycemia. It found that patients are at increased risk for hypoglycemia during the active treatment window of DKA, as well as during the entire hospitalization, when the addition of dextrose or glucose is delayed.