A 17-year-old boy recently diagnosed with Type I diabetes is brought to the pediatricians office by his parents with a chief complaint of having the flu

A 17-year-old boy recently diagnosed with Type I diabetes is brought to the pediatricians office by his parents with a chief complaint of having the flu

A 17-year-old boy recently diagnosed with Type I diabetes is brought to the pediatrician’s office by his parents with a chief complaint of “having the flu”. His symptoms began 2 days ago, and he has vomited several times and has not eaten very much. He can’t remember if he took his prescribed insulin for several days because he felt so sick. Random glucose in the office reveals glucose 560 mg/dl and the pediatrician made arrangements for the patient to be admitted to the hospitalist service with an endocrinology consult.

BP 124/80mmHg; HR 122bpm; Respirations 32 breaths/min; Temp 97.2˚F; PaO₂97% on RA

Admission labs: Hgb 14.6 g/dl; Hct 58%

CMP- Na+ 122mmol/L; K+ 5.3mmol/L; Glucose 560mg/dl; BUN 52mg/dl; Creatinine 4.9mg/dl;

Cl- 95mmol/L; Ca++ 8.8mmol/L; AST (SGOT) 248U/L; ALT 198U/L; CK 34/35 IU/L; Cholesterol 198mg/dl;

Phosphorus 6.8mg/dl; Acetone Moderate; LDH38U/L; Alkaline Phosphatase 132U/L.

Arterial blood gas values were as follows: pH 7.09; Paco220mm Hg; Po2100mm Hg; Sao2 98% (room air)

HCO3-7.5mmol/L; anion gap 19.4

A diagnosis of diabetic ketoacidosis was made, and the patient was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for close monitoring.

Question:

The hormones involved in intermediary metabolism, exclusive of insulin, that can participate in the development of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) are epinephrine, glucagon, cortisol, growth hormone. Describe how they participate in the development of DKA.