Diabetic ketoacidosis: Why does my breath smell like acetone?

There is increasing evidence that rather than being benign and self limiting, AKA may be a significant cause of mortality in patients with alcohol dependence. This literature review discusses the history, characterisation, alcoholic ketoacidosis smell pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management of AKA. The diabetic nurse should follow all outpatients to ensure medication compliance, followup with clinicians, and adopting a positive lifestyle.

If the breath of a person with diabetes smells of acetone, this suggests that there are high levels of ketones in their blood. As the ketones build up, they increase the acidity of the blood. If you are diagnosed with alcoholic ketoacidosis, your recovery will depend on a number of factors. Seeking help as soon as symptoms arise reduces your chances of serious complications. Treatment for alcohol addiction is also necessary to prevent a relapse of alcoholic ketoacidosis. If a person is already malnourished due to alcoholism, they may develop alcoholic ketoacidosis.

How Is Alcoholic Ketoacidosis Treated?

The prognosis for alcoholic ketoacidosis is good as long as it’s treated early. However, the long-term prognosis depends on the severity of the underlying alcohol abuse disorder. The major causes of death in people with alcoholic ketoacidosis are diseases that occur along with the alcoholic ketoacidosis and may have caused it, such as pancreatitis, gastrointestinal bleeding, and alcohol withdrawal.

• It’s when someone reduces or stops taking their insulin to lose weight.
• Excess levels of lactate can result in lactic acidosis, which further complicates AKA.3,5 Excessive use of alcohol can also lead to other medical issues such as alcoholic cirrhosis.
• If there is no food source, as in the case of extreme socio-economic deprivation or eating disorders, this will cause the body’s biochemistry to transform from ketosis to ketoacidosis progressively, as described below.
• There may be a history of previous episodes requiring brief admissions with labels of “query pancreatitis” or “alcoholic gastritis”.

Group meetings provide support for people trying to quit drinking. Meetings are widely available at little-to-no cost in most communities. Support groups can be a valuable source of support and can be combined with medication and therapy.

Signs of Alcoholic Ketoacidosis

Given the frequency with which the condition is seen in other countries, the possibility exists that many cases may be unrecognised and misdiagnosed in UK EDs. AKA should be included in the differential diagnosis of alcohol dependent patients presenting with acute illness. Management is based around exclusion of serious pathology and specific treatment for AKA where it is present.