Diabetic Ketoacidosis Calculator

Assess blood chemistry values against DKA diagnostic criteria — glucose, pH, bicarbonate, and ketones — with severity grading, anion gap, and calculated osmolality.

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Clinical tool — emergency reference only

DKA is a medical emergency. This tool is for educational reference only and does not replace clinical assessment. If DKA is suspected, seek immediate hospital treatment.

Blood Chemistry Values

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Additional values (anion gap / osmolality)

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Health — Diabetes

Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA) Assessment Tool

Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a life-threatening metabolic emergency characterised by hyperglycaemia, metabolic acidosis, and ketonaemia. This tool helps assess whether blood chemistry values meet DKA diagnostic criteria and estimates severity according to ADA classification — for educational and clinical reference use only.

DKA diagnostic criteria (ADA)

The American Diabetes Association defines DKA by three criteria: (1) hyperglycaemia, typically blood glucose above 250 mg/dL (13.9 mmol/L); (2) metabolic acidosis, defined as arterial pH below 7.30 or serum bicarbonate below 18 mEq/L; (3) ketonaemia, defined as serum ketones above 0.6 mmol/L or moderate to large urine ketones on dipstick.

Euglycaemic DKA (blood glucose within normal range) can occur in patients on SGLT-2 inhibitors or with inadequate carbohydrate intake; this calculator may underestimate risk in those cases.

Severity grading

Mild DKA: pH 7.25–7.30, bicarbonate 15–18 mEq/L. Moderate DKA: pH 7.00–7.24, bicarbonate 10–14 mEq/L. Severe DKA: pH below 7.00, bicarbonate below 10 mEq/L.

Anion gap (Na − [Cl + HCO₃] > 12 mEq/L) is characteristically elevated in DKA and helps distinguish it from non-anion-gap acidoses.

Frequently asked questions

What is the anion gap and why does it matter in DKA?

The anion gap reflects unmeasured anions in the blood. In DKA, ketoacids accumulate, widening the anion gap above the normal range of 8–12 mEq/L. A raised anion gap acidosis strongly supports the DKA diagnosis.

 What is corrected sodium?

Hyperglycaemia causes osmotic fluid shifts that dilute sodium. The corrected sodium adds approximately 1.6 mEq/L for every 100 mg/dL glucose above 100 mg/dL to estimate true sodium once hyperglycaemia is treated.

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