[New developments in insulin therapy of diabetic coma (author's transl)].

The experiences of English teams with continuous intravenous infusion of small doses of insulin (6-10 IU/h) for the treatment of diabetic ketoacidosis are reported. This form of therapy is based on recent knowledge of the physiological degree of the serum insulin level (20-200 muU/ml) and the quantity required to saturate the insulin receptors. The advantages of this treatment are in the low therapeutic risk: hypopotassemia, hypoglycemia and cerebral edema, which are disadvantages of conventional therapy of diabetic coma, are avoided.