Diabetic Ketoacidosis: DKA Pathophysiology and Nursing Interventions (Step-By-Step)
Diabetic Ketoacidosis: DKA Pathophysiology and Nursing Interventions (Step-By-Step)
Hey friend! Let's break down diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) super SIMPLE for you.
I'm going to walk you through, STEP BY STEP, the pathophysiology of dka and the nursing interventions and treatment, so you can FINALLY understand it for nursing school! 🙂
I also have a FREE DKA STUDY GUIDE for you here:
What is diabetic ketoacidosis?
Diabetic ketoacidosis, in a nutshell, happens when the body can't use glucose for energy, and so it breaks down fat instead. And this leads to acids (ketones) being produced, which can lead to acidosis.
Diabetic ketoacidosis pathophysiology:
Here's a quick outline of the pathophysiology of dka, in simple steps for you to follow (you won't find these steps in your textbook, I put it together this way to make learning it easier for you!):
Step 1: There isn't enough insulin because the body can't produce it (like what happens during Type 1 Diabetes)
Step 2: Hyperglycemia occurs because there's no insulin to move glucose into the cells, so it just stays in the blood.
Step 3: The cells use fat for energy instead of glucose
Step 4: Ketones are produced because of that fat breakdown. And ketones are ACIDS!
Step 5: Metabolic acidosis occurs because of all the acid build up in the blood.
Diabetic ketoacidosis treatment and nursing interventions:
There are 3 main nursing interventions for dka: fluids, insulin, and of course, continuing to assess your patient!
The fluids you give to your patient will depend on their particular situation and what the doctor has ordered, but they may include normal saline, Lactated Ringers, 0.45% NaCl, or D5 1/2NS
Nursing assessment for DKA:
There are several key nursing assessments you'll need to to for a patient with DKA, which may include: monitoring their intake and output, weight checks, assessing respiratory status, assessing their IV site and fluids, drawing labs, and assessing their mental status.
Make sure to get your FREE DKA STUDY GUIDE here:
And your FREE ASSESSMENT TRANSCRIPT here:
**Some of these are affiliate links, and I will receive a small commission if you choose to purchase a product through one of these links. Thanks for your support of our channel!**
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F R E E A S S E S S M E N T T R A N S C R I P T:
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R E L A T E D V I D E O S
Easy breakdown of DKA lab values:
Insulin and potassium relationship:
DKA pathophysiology (step-by-step):
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These videos are intended for entertainment purposes only. Although we strive for 100% accuracy in all of our videos, errors may occur. Never treat a patient or make a nursing or medical decision based on the information provided on this channel or in our videos. Never practice nursing or medicine unless you have a proper license to do so.
FREE CHEAT SHEETS:
Free DKA study guide: https://nursingsos.lpages.co/38754297750529192432928/
Free nursing assessment transcript: https://nursingsos.lpages.co/assessment-transcript/
These videos have saved my life!! Im in my first year of nursing school and everything is online/self taught. Thank you for making this so easy and understandable!
We LOVE hearing this from students, Savannah Dupuis!! ?? So happy to hear this video helped you better understand it! You are going to do FANTASTIC!
Love 🙂 Thx girl for this video, I love how you break the content down and make it easier to understand
Thanks for letting us know you loved this video on DKA, Rachel Osswald! So glad to hear that it helped you understand the concept better! Your support means the world to us! 🙂
Love! Thanks for your DKA tutorial so easy to comprehend.
Thanks for letting us know you loved this video, Monsieur Davey Ray! Your support means the world to us. Thank you for being here?
Love! Thank you for all the awesome videos, helps me a lot through my program.
Thanks for letting us know you loved this video, Fatima Elgourch! Your support means the world to us. Thank you for being here?
Thank you for explaining this so well. Just finished the test where diabetes was the majority of it (the rest was spread between alzheimers, parkinsons, strokes, seizures, multiple sclerosis, and myasthenia gravis) and I feel good about how I did. Thank you soo much! <3
Kaitlyn P yay! We are so happy to hear that this video helped you understand better. ? You will do GREAT, friend!
LOVE!! This breaks down helps it stick! Love the full video lectures!!!
Thanks for letting us know you loved this video, Leslie Zamudio! Your support means the world to us. Thank you for being here?
Loved it .. it is helping me through my studies in my last 6 months of being a student Nurse for my exams. thank you x
You’re always so nice, maz Millward. We’re so happy you’re here! Thanks for always being so supportive of everything we do here. 🙂
Absolutely brilliant video and explained so well. Thank you
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Thank you…..your videos are helping me a lot……my nursing school gets easier day by day……from Namibia
I’m so glad to hear that!!! Thanks for letting me know you loved the video 🙂
LOVE! ???? I needed this so much! Thank you for being who God created you to be!
So happy to hear this video was helpful for you, Heather Akers! ? We LOVE hearing how our resources helped you feel more confident in your knowledge! Hope you have a fantastic day, Heather Akers. ?
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Woohoo! Thanks for letting us know you loved the video, Tepora Unasa! We’re so happy to hear that! 🙂
Thank you for breaking down the concepts so simply! I don’t know how people went through nursing school before YouTube!
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Woohoo! You’re so welcome, Britnee Marshall! We’re so happy to hear that! 🙂
We used to spend all that time in library reading books and talking to colleagues about their experiance :))
Love it!!
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Love your way of explanation so simply ☺️
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Thank you for this! Super helpful 🙂
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LOVE. Thank you!
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Thank you so much ,you did a very good job ,you really break it down into simple parts and which is very easy to understand and grasp on the information once again thank you so much for your research and time
Thank you for letting us know you loved this video, Khalid Mahmood. ? Our favorite part of our day is hearing about how our resources have helped YOU! Your support means the world to us. ?
I love all of your videos. I am using this to prepare for a DKA sim lab because my memory was being stingy with the information (or maybe I crammed and dumped before…I don’t know). The way you break things down makes it easier for me to remember them.
Craig Hall yay! We are so happy to hear that this video helped you understand better. ? You will do GREAT, friend!