A recent case of diabetic ketoacidosis induced by a combination of empagliflozin and a keto diet is a timely reminder to check a patient’s diet before prescribing a SGLT2 inhibitor, say doctors.

The 43-year-old woman with type 2 diabetes and obesity presented with signs and symptoms of an acute respiratory infection, report doctors from the Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha, US.

She complained of vomiting, cough, shortness of breath and generalised weakness for one day.

The woman was in moderate distress, but her mucous membranes and skin appeared dry and her lungs were clear to auscultation bilaterally.