About Abbott
Worldwide Locations

DIABETES CARE

  1. Home
  2. Rising Ketones

Rising Ketones can creep up on your patients

Will they see symptoms of a stomach flu and miss the real threat? People with diabetes often misattribute the symptoms of rising ketones, like nausea, to less serious ailments, missing the threat of DKA lurking behind them1-3.

Stay up-to-date with information about rising ketones and DKA.

Sign UP
THREAT OF DKA

A DKA emergency can strike at any age in people with any type of diabetes1.

DKA can pose serious challenges and life-threatening risks for your patients with type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes1.

Can escalate quickly1,4,5

Your patients may not know unchecked rising ketones can escalate to a life-threatening DKA emergency in just a few hours1,4,5.

  • Ketone levels may increase to >1 mmol/L within about 3 hours of insulin being suspended6.
products 2 products 2
Precipitating factors can be unpredictable and hard to avoid7

The most common precipitating factors of DKA can be unpredictable and hard to avoid1,7.

  • Missed or insufficient insulin doses
  • Infections
  • Illness
  • Stress

 

products 3 products 3
Leading cause of T1D mortality5

DKA is still a leading cause of mortality for people with type 1 diabetes (T1D) under 58 years old5.

products 4 products 4
SGLT2 inhibitors increase risk in T2D1
SGLT2 inhibitors are associated with an almost 3-fold increased risk for DKA in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D)1.
products 3 products 3
GAPS IN PATIENT KNOWLEDGE

Many people with diabetes are unaware of DKA2*.

Many people living with diabetes may be unprepared for a DKA emergency, lacking an understanding of the condition, the symptoms, and the importance of testing ketone levels2.

image feature card

Were not familiar with the term DKA2†

image

Were unable to name a singlesymptom of DKA2

image

Did not test for ketones at all2

*Multinational, multicenter survey of endocrine outpatient clinic patients with average duration of type 1 diabetes of 22 years (N=333)2.
†Participants rated their own knowledge of DKA significantly lower than their physicians did (p<0.0001)2.

People with diabetes often miss the symptoms of rising ketones3.

Many symptoms of rising ketones are similar to common, less serious ailments. It’s easy to see why people with diabetes may misattribute them—and miss the opportunity to test ketone levels early before they progress into later symptoms of DKA3.  

THRIST OR A VERY DRY MOUTH

FREQUENT URINATION

HIGH BLOOD GLUCOSE

HIGH LEVELS OF KETONES IN URINE

NAUSEA, VOMITING, OR ABDOMINAL PAIN

DIFFICULTY BREATHING

CONSTANT FATIGUE OR TIREDNESSOR

FRUITY ODOR ON BREATH

DRY OR FLUSHED SKIN

CONFUSION OR A HARD TIME PAYING ATTENTION

image
“Before my first DKA experience, I didn’t know what the symptoms were. I was feeling very nauseous. I would have to urinate every five minutes, and I would have that funky smell in my breath. I didn’t know I should have sought help—I just thought this is what happens when you have high blood sugar.

— Gibran lives with type 1 diabetes

SETTING A PLAN

Set and review a plan to help your patients stay on top of rising ketones5,9,10.

It can be helpful to talk with your patients regularly about managing ketones for a more complete approach to their diabetes care. This may help them feel more prepared to prevent a DKA emergency and know how to act quickly if they experience one.

Download Patient Brochure

Recognize

Help your patients recognize early symptoms of rising ketones and later symptoms of DKA.

Check

Be sure patients know how and when to monitor ketone levels.

Act

Revisit what to do when ketones rise and in case of a DKA emergency.

SIGN UP

Thank you!

You will now receive email updates about the threat of rising ketones and DKA.

DKA=diabetic ketoacidosis; SGLT-2=sodium-glucose cotransporter-2; T1D=type 1 diabetes; T2D=type 2 diabetes.

1. Umpierrez, G. E. Diabetes Care (2024). https://doi.org/10.2337/dci24-0032.
2. Hepprich, M. BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care (2023). https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjdrc-2023-003662.
3. Virdi, N. Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics (2023). https://doi.org/10.1089/dia.2023.0149. 
4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “About Diabetic Ketoacidosis.” Accessed November 5, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/about/diabetic-ketoacidosis.html.
5. Nguyen, K. T. Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology (2022). https://doi.org/10.1177/19322968211042656.
6. Sherr, J. (2024). Poster presented at Advanced Technologies and Treatments for Diabetes 2024 Conference, Florence, Italy, March 6-9, 2024.
7. Lizzo, J. M. “Adult Diabetic Ketoacidosis” In StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing, July 10, 2023.
8. American Diabetes Association. "About Diabetic Ketoacidosis." Accessed May 2, 2025. https://diabetes.org/about-diabetes/complications/ketoacidosis-dka/dka-ketoacidosis-ketones.
9. American Diabetes Association. “Planning for Sick Days.” Accessed November 5, 2024. https://diabetes.org/getting-sick-with-diabetes/sick-days.
10. Huang, J. Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology (2024). https://doi.org/10.1177/19322968231152236.

ADC-111214 v2.0

YOU ARE ABOUT TO EXIT THE ABBOTT FAMILY OF WEBSITES FOR A 3RD PARTY WEBSITE

Links which take you out of Abbott worldwide websites are not under the control of Abbott, and Abbott is not responsible for the contents of any such site or any further links from such site. Abbott is providing these links to you only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement of the linked site by Abbott. The website that you have requested also may not be optimized for your screen size.

DO YOU WISH TO CONTINUE AND EXIT THIS WEBSITE?

Yes