History and management of diabetic ketoacidosis
Thursday 3rd February 2022, 5:00pm - 6:00pm

In the first of our 2022 ABCD webinar series, which run on the first Thursday of the month, please join Professor Ketan Dhatariya to discuss the history and management of ketoacidosis.

Prior to the discovery of insulin, type 1 diabetes was universally fatal within a few months. Insulin revolutionised the world of diabetes. However, it took a long time to understand how insulin should be used, and at what doses. Of course the manufacturing process has also progressed to enable the use of human and then analogue insulins. This talk will go through the early studies on the management of DKA and how the use of hundreds, or even thousands of units given intramuscularly was common place. Then, in the 1970’s, seminal papers showed that low dose intravenous insulin was just as good in lowering glucose and ketone concentrations. The slow, and gentle evolutions have led to the current guidelines.

There remain many areas of uncertainty – the US and the UK guidelines differ – and it may be argued that the ADA guidelines are no longer fit for purpose. There are few studies ongoing to help inform clinical practice. However, with the availability of IT and large data gathering capability, there is new hope that evidence will inform the next versions of the guidelines rather than expert opinion. The outlook for the management of DKA looks good.

Q & A will follow this presentation

Accreditation for this meeting has been sought from the RCP London. Certificates of attendance will be emailed to you after the event.

Professor Ketan Dhatariya
Ketan Dhatariya is a full time NHS consultant and honorary professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia. He is the current Chair of the Joint British Diabetes Societies for Inpatient Care, and the Chair of the Examining Board for the Specialist Clinical Exam in Diabetes and Endocrinology. He is the immediate past President of the Diabetes and Endocrine Section of the Royal Society of Medicine. His interests are in all aspects of diabetes related inpatient management, diabetes related emergencies, peri-operative diabetes care and the diabetic foot. He has over 150 publications, and has written several book chapters on all aspects of diabetes care.  He is an associate editor of Diabetic Medicine and also of the BMJ Open Diabetes Research and Care, as well as the section editor for diabetes for Endotext.org, the worlds largest - and free - online diabetes and endocrinology textbook.  

Professor Mark Strachan

Mark Strachan is a consultant in Diabetes, Endocrinology and Acute Medicine at the Western General Hospital, Edinburgh and Honorary Professor of the University of Edinburgh. He runs the monogenic diabetes service in Lothian and has a particular interest in C-peptide and its role as a means of more accurately classifying the underlying cause of diabetes. He has published widely on the effects of Type 2 diabetes on cognitive function and liver disease, and was previously awarded the RD Lawrence Lectureship by Diabetes UK.

Outwith diabetes, he leads the South East Scotland thyroid cancer and neuroendocrine cancer services. He is Treasurer of the British Thyroid Foundation and a Trustee and Founder of the Ann Edgar Charitable Trust for patients with neuroendocrine cancers.

He is Secretary of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and former President of the Scottish Society of Physicians. He is an editor of the international textbook  ‘Davidson’s Principles and Practice of Medicine.’