Clinicians love aphorism and acronym — the foremost emergency acronym ABC seems to grow by a letter every five years and by two letters for every executive committee who are entrusted with making it more memorable.

Its current incarnation, DRSABCDEFG, ranks as my enduring nemesis.

I’m confident that that diabetic ketoacidosis will not liberate me of my medical registration but has loftier consequences than broken glass or live electrical wires if considered last.

Like the many heads of the Hydra, it has multifarious manifestations and can masquerade in young, old, fit and well.