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Medical Emergencies · single question

Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is characterized by which of the following features (all of which are genuinely true components of its pathophysiology)?

  1. Metabolic acidosis, increased gluconeogenesis, ketosis, AND hyperglycemia — all four are true, core features of DKA; hypoglycemia (not listed here) would be the genuine exception if it appeared as a choice
  2. Only metabolic acidosis, with no other features
  3. Hypoglycemia as the defining feature
  4. DKA has no relationship to glucose metabolism at all
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Correct answer: A. Metabolic acidosis, increased gluconeogenesis, ketosis, AND hyperglycemia — all four are true, core features of DKA; hypoglycemia (not listed here) would be the genuine exception if it appeared as a choice

Metabolic acidosis (from accumulating ketoacids), increased gluconeogenesis (driven by insulin deficiency), ketosis (from unchecked lipolysis and ketone body formation), and hyperglycemia are all genuine, core features of DKA's pathophysiology. If a true 'EXCEPT' option were needed, hypoglycemia would be the classic correct exception, since DKA is fundamentally a hyperglycemic, not hypoglycemic, crisis.

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