Diabetic Ketoacidosis Misdiagnosis

Negligence Related to the Diagnosis, Treatment, and Management of Diabetes

Patients experiencing medical difficulties turn to their physicians with confidence, trusting them to figure out what’s causing problems, and what needs to be done. While trust in the proficiency of medical professionals is well-placed, the results don’t always meet the required standard.

This is particularly true when it comes to diagnosing, treating, and managing diabetes in patients. Often type 1 diabetes is misdiagnosed as type 2 diabetes which is nearly 20 times more prevalent in adults.

Unfortunately, this is a disease that doesn’t allow for a large margin of error before becoming dangerous. A recent survey found that 25% of participants with diabetes were misdiagnosed. This misdiagnosis was associated with an 18% increased risk for diabetic ketoacidosis compared to those who were correctly diagnosed.

As diabetic ketoacidosis misdiagnosis lawyers in Atlanta, the team at Davis Adams is well-versed in what it takes to get patients the results they deserve in such challenging times. There’s no reason to face legal complications alone.

We’re here to make sure you have the diabetic ketoacidosis misdiagnosis lawyers in place you need and deserve. When you’re looking for a diabetic ketoacidosis misdiagnosis attorney with the exceptional record to match, Davis Adams is the place to start.

Understanding Diabetic Ketoacidosis

The human body is designed by nature to produce its insulin. This important hormone helps get blood sugar, known as blood glucose, into cells where it’s converted to energy.

individuals diagnosed with diabetes have blood glucose levels that don’t self-regulate. Diabetes is categorized at two varying levels known as types.

Patients with type 1 diabetes cannot create insulin. Those with type 2 diabetes, the more common diagnosis, create insufficient amounts of insulin or can’t manage the insulin available.

Diabetic ketoacidosis is a life-threatening complication that is linked to type 1 diabetes. This condition occurs when low insulin levels make it impossible for the body to use sugar as a fuel source.

Pediatric Diabetic Ketoacidosis Misdiagnosis in the Emergency Room

A mother takes her child to the emergency room following hours of vomiting. The child is thirsty, urinating excessively, and has been lethargic. Her abdomen hurts too. Something’s just not right. The child’s mother isn’t sure what’s going on, but she’s confident that the ER physician and nurses will correctly diagnose her child and provide good care. That doesn’t happen. Instead, the child’s symptoms are dismissed as being nothing serious. She’s discharged, goes home to rest on her bed, and dies of undiagnosed diabetic ketoacidosis.

This horrific fact pattern is one we’ve seen too often. We’ve sat at kitchen tables with grieving parents as this story has been told time and time again. First, as parents, our diabetic ketoacidosis attorneys acknowledge that we can’t begin to grasp the pain of losing a child. We realize that. But we can demand accountability and hold the negligent medical providers responsible.

We would love to never receive another phone call letting us know that a child has died because an ER physician or nurse simply didn’t take the time to order inexpensive and basic lab tests to rule out a diagnosis of diabetic ketoacidosis. Unfortunately, we know there will be more such calls, and more devastated families who need our assistance. And we consider it an honor to stand with them in their time of need.

How a Type 1 Diabetes Diagnosis Leads to Diabetic Ketoacidosis

Type 1 and type 2 diabetes share some similarities. However, those suffering from either of these conditions will attest to the fact that the phenotypes and treatments are vastly different.

Individuals with type 1 diabetes must take insulin daily because their bodies cannot produce the hormone. Without insulin, glucose levels quickly fluctuate to dangerous levels.

Those diagnosed with type 2 diabetes enjoy access to other treatment solutions. Some of these options may be focused on diet and exercise exclusively or include non-insulin specific medications.

The different treatment solutions for type 1 and 2 diabetes make a misdiagnosis of type 1 diabetes for type 2 extremely dangerous. Type 1 diabetics who are not treated with insulin can experience prolonged hyperglycemia. Over time, this can lead to the development of Diabetic Ketoacidosis as blood acid levels soar.

Side Effects for Type 1 Diabetics Who Aren’t Properly Treated

The dangers in misdiagnosing the type of diabetes a patient is suffering from comes with a long list of side effects and undesirable outcomes. Type 1 diabetics who are not properly treated may experience retinopathy, which can lead to severe eyesight damage over time. The only prevention when it comes to retinopathy is close regulation of an individual’s cholesterol levels, blood sugar, and blood pressure.

Kidney damage is another concern for type 1 diabetics not receiving the proper insulin-based treatments. With time, untreated kidney damage has the potential to lead to more serious medical complications such as heart disease, stroke, or complete kidney failure.

Overall, those patients that require insulin to treat type 1 diabetes and aren’t receiving it are at risk for developing nerve damage and poor blood circulation throughout the body. Without the help of insulin, arteries can harden, and often the feet are the first of the extremities not to receive a sufficient blood supply. In the most severe of cases, this results in the amputation of a limb.

Tests Doctors Should Perform to Avoid a Diabetic Ketoacidosis Misdiagnosis

Whenever a diagnosis of diabetes is suspected, there are several tests that physicians and other medical professionals can turn to for proper diagnosis of diabetic ketoacidosis. The testing process ideally begins with the A1C test, more formally referred to as the glycated hemoglobin test. The A1C test evaluates a patient’s blood sugar levels that have occurred over the past several months.

The importance of the A1C test lies in the test’s ability to measure the percentage of blood sugar attached to red blood cells. Those individuals who receive results showing 6.5% or higher on two separate tests can confidently be diagnosed with diabetes.

While the A1C test is highly accurate, it’s not an option for those who are pregnant or suffering from other hemoglobin issues. When this is the case, options such as a random blood sugar test or a fasting blood sugar test are equally adequate.

The random blood sugar test can be done at any time of the day and is often administered on several different occasions to confirm results. Those that test for blood sugar levels of 200 mg/dl and above using this test are often diagnosed with diabetes. Test results may line up with other symptoms of diabetes presenting in a patient that include high levels of thirst or urinating more often than normal.

The fasting blood sugar test requires an individual to refrain from eating overnight before a blood sample is evaluated. Fasting blood sugar tests that come back with results showing levels less than 100 mg/dl are considered normal. Results between 100 to 125 mg/dl are considered pre-diabetes while levels reaching 126 mg/dl and above on two tests equate to a diabetes diagnosis.

When these tests still make it unclear whether a patient has type 1 or type 2 diabetes, further blood tests should be run for autoantibodies that are particular to a type 1 diagnosis. A physician should always be looking for ketones that are specific to type 1 diabetes and the excess of which can lead to diabetic ketoacidosis.

If these tests were not comprehensively or successfully carried out, and the result was a misdiagnosis, patients often have grounds to pursue legal action. When you’re looking for a diabetic ketoacidosis misdiagnosis attorney in Atlanta, it’s important to partner with the best at Davis Adams.