Fun biology fact: your body can even produce its own sodium bicarbonate, via the pancreas, but when acid levels rise too high, the pancreas can’t keep up, which is why a timely supplement of exogenous ...

During a recent shift, our emergency department (ED) team saw a patient with fairly severe diabetic ketoacidosis. The patient's serum bicarbonate level was 6 mEq/L and the venous pH was 6.85. During ...