Nonketotic Hyperosmolar Coma
Hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state (HHS) is a complication of diabetes mellitus (predominantly type 2) in which high blood sugars cause severe dehydration, increases in osmolarity (relative concentration of solute) and a high risk of complications, coma and death. It is diagnosed with blood tests. It is related to diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), another complication of diabetes more often (but not exclusively) encountered in people with type 1 diabetes; they are differentiated with measurement of ketone bodies, organic molecules that are the underlying driver for DKA but are usually not detectable in HHS.
The treatment of HHS consists of correction of the dehydration with intravenous fluids, reduction of the blood sugar levels with insulin, and management of any underlying conditions that might have precipitated the illness, such as an acute infection.
Older names for HHS are hyperosmolar non-ketotic coma (HONK), nonketotic hyperosmolar coma, hyperosmolar hyperglycemic nonketotic syndrome (favoured by the American Diabetes Association).)
Read more about Nonketotic Hyperosmolar Coma: Signs and Symptoms, Diagnosis, Pathophysiology
Famous quotes containing the word coma:
“A coma that is a white, interesting country ...”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)