Mobile technology support for clinical decision in diabetic keto-acidosis emergency.

The main challenge of effectively managing emergencies in diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is the fine tuning of the treatment in order to re-establish the normal metabolic homeostasis. We propose a mobile application for clinical decision support in DKA emergencies (mDKA), running under Android on smart phones and tablet PCs. mDKA provides decision support for treatment concerning the main components (i.e. choice and dose of re-hydration agent, insulin, potassium or bicarbonate) for up to 12 hours after the diagnosis. The application underwent a preliminary scanty evaluation aimed at assessing its perceived usability. The results sustained the informal hints that mDKA's accuracy in deciding the treatment path was acceptable in terms of general variability of medical decision in DKA and brought evidence of positive attitude towards the application itself.