Diabetes mellitus
Structured condition card with NCLEX priority cues and nursing action focus.
Endocrinehigh priorityneeds review
Diabetes mellitus
Etiology / Pathophysiology
- Insulin deficiency, insulin resistance, or both.
- Glucose cannot enter cells effectively, causing hyperglycemia and vascular/nerve complications.
Medications
| Class | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Insulins | Insulin replacement or control depending on diabetes type and severity. |
Signs / symptoms
- Polyuria, polydipsia, polyphagia.
- Never ignore low glucose symptoms.
Nursing actions
- Monitor glucose, hypoglycemia signs, foot care, infection risk, and diet/med timing.
- Teach sick-day rules and when to seek care.
- Inspect feet and promote routine eye/kidney follow-up.
Complications
- Hypoglycemia
- DKA/HHS
- Neuropathy
- Kidney disease
- Retinopathy
NCLEX cues
- Polyuria, polydipsia, polyphagia.
- Never ignore low glucose symptoms.
Memory hooks
- Diabetes is sugar in blood, starving cells.
Labs / Diagnostics
- Trend assessment findings and ordered diagnostics; verify exact values with school source material.
Review notes
- Session-derived study seed. Verify against school materials, ATI/NCLEX review sources, current orders, and facility policy before relying on details.
Cross references
Related cards are generated from the shared study map, not hand-built per page.
Source entitycondition card
Diabetes mellitus
Condition card for Diabetes mellitus: recognize the testable cue, prevent the complication, and choose the safest first nursing action.
Termcondition cue
HbA1c
Blood test reflecting average blood glucose over the past few months.
Med classmedication safety
Insulins
Moves glucose from blood into cells; also shifts potassium into cells when used with dextrose for hyperkalemia.