Diabetic Ketoacidosis in Type 2 Diabetics: A Novel Presentation of Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma

Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) has been the hallmark of a life-threatening medical emergency for poorly controlled or newly diagnosed type 1 diabetics. In the last two decades, this traditional association has been challenged with increasing reports of type 2 diabetics presenting with DKA. We report the case of a 75-year-old woman with known type 2 diabetes who presented in DKA and was found to have pancreatic adenocarcinoma. A link between diabetes mellitus and pancreatic cancer has been investigated, but the literature remains inconclusive as to whether diabetes mellitus (DM) is a cause or result of pancreatic cancer or simply the confluence of two common entities. Previous case reports of pancreatic tumors presenting with DKA all represented neuroendocrine tumors. Adenocarcinoma of the pancreas should be considered in the list of precipitants for DKA in type 2 DM.