LOW SERUM POTASSIUM LEVEL DURING RECOVERY FROM DIABETIC COMA

Abstract

DURING the treatment of a patient with severe diabetic coma, we had the opportunity to observe an alarming clinical syndrome, which was probably due to a condition of extreme potassium depletion. REPORT OF A CASE Mrs. B., aged 56 and mother of five children, was admitted to the hospital on July 27, 1946, at 8 p. m. in severe diabetic coma. The past history was noncontributory but for the fact that she had been extremely obese as a young girl and that she was known to have had diabetes for twelve years. She took 20 units of regular insulin daily but was always negligent about her diet. No members of her family were known to have suffered from any special diseases. There was no history of periodic muscular paralysis in the family. On July 23 the patient noticed a furuncle on her nose. She was tired and thirsty