Diabetic Ketoacidosis Module

The DKA module provides experiential education for pre-health professions students by applying the student’s basic science knowledge to the pathophysiology of a patient scenario of diabetic ketoacidosis and its treatment. Basic science correlates to clinical medicine include:

1. Types of transport mechanisms across the cell membrane
2. Facilitated transport across a cell membrane
3. The role of glucose transporters in getting glucose into cells
4. How and where insulin is produced
5. The effect of insulin on various glucose transporters and its role as a regulatory hormone
6. The identification of counter-regulatory hormones and their role in homeostasis
7. Pathophysiology of ketoacid formation
8. Pathophysiology of DKA
9. Maintenance of acid/base balance in the body
10. Compensatory mechanisms for metabolic acidosis secondary to DKA
11. The role of bicarbonate as a buffer in the body
12. The relevance of the carbonic acid equilibrium
13. How the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation can calculate pH and bicarb levels and predict changes in pH based on changes in pCO₂
14. Use of Henry’s Law to determine role of pCO₂ in acid/base balance
15. Treatment of DKA by reversing the underlying pathophysiologic processes