Diabetic Ketoacidosis - Essay Example

 There is a presence of metabolic acidosis due to the arterial blood gas results. A low PH and low blood HCO3 characterize metabolic acidosis. The young man’s PH is 6.9, which is lower than the normal PH of a healthy person. HCO3 is also very low than expected. There is also the presence of respiratory alkalosis (Brunetti & Waldhäusl, 1987). Respiratory alkalosis causes vomiting and from the report, the patient vomited for 48 hours. It is also accompanied by slow breathing, this is evident from the report and it is the main reason behind the patient receiving oxygen via a Hudson mask.

Diagnosis

The young man is suffering from diabetic ketoacidosis, which is under type 1 diabetes and it is most common to people under the age of 19 years. This is due to the low PH, low blood HCO3, blood glucose, and ketones in the urine. These are the most common reasons behind the conclusion of the insulin dependency of the young man. A person suffering from diabetic ketoacidosis is also likely to vomit and have deep breathing. The results are likely to be from the A1C method of diagnosing diabetes and the urinalysis method (Gries, 2003).

 Replacing fluids lost through excessive urination and vomiting and administer insulin are the main treatment strategies to stabilize the patient before transporting him to a tertiary facility (Escott-Stump, 2008).