Insulin in special situations: diabetic ketoacidosis.

K is a potential life-threatening metabolic complication of diabetes mellitus. Although it is commonly associated with type 1 diabetes, it can also occur in patients with type 2 disease during catabolic periods of stress.1 In contrast with the widespread belief, diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is more common in adults than in children.2 Inspite of impressive advances in its understanding and management, DKA still has a mortality of 2 5%.1,2 It is the most frequent cause of death in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes, and accounts for more than half of all deaths in diabetics younger than 24 years of age.3