DIABETIC COMA

Abstract

Two considerations led to the preparation of this report regarding our recent experience in the treatment of diabetic coma: A growing realization that diabetic coma is an acute deficiency state, a condition in which the primary disturbance is a lack of insulin. In treatment, this fact should be the feature kept most prominently in mind by the physician. Everything else is secondary to the energetic supplying of really adequate amounts of insulin, regardless of how many units this may mean. We regard as regrettable the tendency of some clinicians in their talks and writings to wander away from this fundamental idea for the successful treatment of diabetic acidosis. Without large amounts of insulin given early, maximal success can never be obtained despite the carrying out of other secondary measures, chiefly the supplying of fluid and electrolytes abundantly, however physiologically sound they may be in their own right. The