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Fasting ketoacidosis is especially an underdiagnosed problem in patients with neuro-muscular disease with severely depleted muscular mass. During periods of prolonged fasting, low levels of insulin and high levels of glucagon induce lipolysis in the peripheral fat tissue. This will result in elevated free fatty acids levels in de blood and increased ketogenesis in the liver. These ketones pass into the blood, leading to a ketoacidosis. Patients with low muscular mass are more susceptible to develop ketoacidosis due to lower energy reserves and reduced glycogen stores on the one hand, and a reduced uptake of ketones by their low muscular mass on the other hand. During periods of increased metabolism and in the absence of adequate caloric intake, this can easily lead to severe ketoacidosis. An adequate oral caloric intake is essential in the prevention and treatment of fasting ketoacidosis.

Background: Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) can have an atypical presentation during pregnancy. In the case of euglycemic DKA, relatively normal blood glucose levels can hinder a quick diagnosis., Case Description: A 34-year-old DM1 patient, 31 weeks pregnant, was admitted because of reduced fetal movements and nausea. She had reduced the amount of insulin that her insulin pump administered and had a severe euglycemic DKA. The CTG was abnormal and there was a threat of preterm birth. She was treated with insulin, glucose and bicarbonate. A month later the patient underwent an emergency cesarean section because of an abnormal CTG. A daughter was born that weighed 4820 grams, the Apgar score was 5/8/8, and the pH was 7.14. The girl required intravenous glucose for a week., Conclusion: Euglycemic DKA during pregnancy requires swift recognition and treatment but this remains challenging.

Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) during pregnancy is a rare but very serious complication that requires early recognition and treatment to prevent severe complications. Here we present three cases in which DKA occurred during normoglycaemia, demonstrating the importance of early recognition. In pregnancy, DKA can occur at lower blood glucose levels than usual due to several pregnancy-related factors, such as altered metabolism, increased insulin resistance, lower buffering capacity related to chronic hyperventilation and hunger. Symptoms that are common during pregnancy, such as vomiting, may be missed as a first sign of DKA. In patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (especially those on continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion) insulin administration must never be discontinued, as this prevents lipolysis and ketone formation. Physicians and patients need to be aware of the risks and management of DKA in pregnancy.

Clozapine is an effective antipsychotic drug for the treatment of therapy-resistant schizophrenia. Mandatory screening of white blood cells is a safety measure for the early detection of agranulocytosis caused by treatment with clozapine. However, so far, there is no standard screening for two other potentially lethal side-effects, namely diabetic ketoacidosis and gastro-intestinal hypomotility. The current situation is weighed up on the basis of a comparison of the chances that these side-effects can occur and cause death. The conclusion is that weekly or monthly screening should be carried out for all these side-effects.

In three patients with an unusual presentation of diabetes mellitus, the classification of their diabetes was troublesome. An adolescent male with slightly elevated blood-glucose levels turned out to have excellent glycaemic control on sulphonylurea derivatives only. When he was 40 years of age, his diabetes was finally diagnosed as 'maturity onset diabetes of the young' (MODY). A non-obese 41-year-old man was initially diagnosed with type-2 diabetes. Therapy with oral hypoglycaemic agents was unsuccessful and he was subsequently classified as having 'latent autoimmune diabetes of adults' (LADA) based on the presence of antibodies against glutaminic acid decarboxylase. A 29-year-old man presented with severe ketoacidosis and was initially believed to have type-1 diabetes. The patient himself discontinued insulin therapy and he was eventually diagnosed as having type-2 diabetes. A careful classification may have clinical consequences. Patients with MODY3, for example, respond to sulphonylurea derivatives. In MODY2, treatment with diet alone is often sufficient. In patients with LADA, insulin therapy is the treatment of choice. The recognition of diabetes mellitus type 2 as the underlying illness in some patients who present with ketoacidosis means that these patients can be specifically treated for their basic problem, which is insulin resistance. For them, weight reduction is essential and metformin is the drug of choice as far as pharmacotherapy is concerned, but of course attention must also be given to cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension and dyslipidaemia.

Two girls, 14 and 15 years old and known for several years with diabetes, came to the paediatric outpatients' clinic because they had been vomiting for 1-2 days. Laboratory tests revealed diabetic ketoacidosis. After administration of fluids and short-acting insulin, and sodium bicarbonate in one of the girls, the patients recovered, although one of them continued to have fluctuating glucose values. In most children, vomiting indicates benign gastro-enteritis and is therefore self-limiting. But in children with diabetes mellitus, vomiting can be more sinister because it could lead to, or be a symptom of, diabetic ketoacidosis. Even with normal blood glucose levels, severe metabolic disturbances are possible, and tests diagnosing diabetic ketoacidosis are recommended.

It is extremely important to look for tropical and other exotic diseases in travellers who return with illness or become ill after travelling. Especially tropical diseases and exotic infectious diseases have to be excluded because of their possible fatal outcome. On the other hand, many travellers return with 'common' not-exotic illnesses not related to their journey. When in such cases attention is only given to exotic causes of their illness, diagnosis can be delayed which may be harmful. This was the case in 5 patients: a woman aged 44 years who suffered for months from bloody diarrhoea since her return from Brasil, due to a rectal adenocarcinoma, a 61-year-old man with diarrhoea upon returning from Egypt, who had hairy-cell leukaemia, a 17-year-old boy who developed a ketoacidotic diabetic crisis whilst on a journey in Uganda, but in whose case the first thoughts went to malaria, a 50-year-old man who suffered from throat pain since a journey through East Africa, during which he contracted a flu-like disease, and in whom Kahler's disease was diagnosed, and 69-year-old man suffering from recurrent fever and cough, in whom a radiological lesion was observed in the thorax which proved to be part of Wegener's disease.

Three patients, two women aged 21 and 67 and a man aged 43 years, presented at the emergency department with diabetic ketoacidosis and abdominal symptoms mimicking an acute abdominal condition. In two of them laparotomy was performed which proved to be negative. Abdominal symptoms resolved after correction of metabolic, fluid and electrolyte disturbances. Symptoms indicating a possible diagnosis of acute abdomen have to be regarded as being compatible with diabetic ketoacidosis per se. However, a potential acute abdominal problem prompting surgical intervention should not be overlooked; it may have been the precipitating factor for diabetic ketoacidosis.