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Euglycaemic diabetic ketoacidosis in a patient with type 2 diabetes started on empagliflozin.

BMJ Case Rep · 2016

Last updated 2026-05-28

A 42-year-old man with type 2 diabetes developed nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain after starting empagliflozin, a diabetes medication. His blood sugar levels were not high enough for typical diabetic ketoacidosis, but he was diagnosed with euglycaemic diabetic ketoacidosis and treated successfully with fluids and insulin.

AI summary of the abstract below.

JournalBMJ Case Rep, 2016
Citations11
Relative citation ratio0.46
NIH percentile27
Molecules
Conditions studied Type 2 Diabetes

Abstract

Diabetes ketoacidosis (DKA) is largely associated with type 1 diabetes and has hyperglycaemia as a cardinal feature. We discuss the case of a 42-year-old man, a patient with type 2 diabetes, who presented to the emergency room, with nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. He had recently changed his diabetes medications and started on an SGLT2 inhibitor (empagliflozin) along with metformin, pioglitazone, liraglutide and self-adjusted exogenous insulin. DKA was suspected in the wake of clinical examination and lab findings but glucose levels were below the cut-off for DKA; therefore, he was diagnosed with euglycaemic DKA. He was successfully managed with intravenous hydration and insulin infusion. We discuss the link of SGLT2 inhibitors with DKA and the pathophysiology behind euglycaemic DKA.

Verbatim abstract via PubMed 27177938 ↗