A patient with diabetic ketoacidosis has a potassium level of 5.5mEq/L. When monitoring the electrocardiogram tracing, the clinical nurse specialist would expect to observe:

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The clinical nurse specialist would expect to observe a widened QRS complex and peaked T wave. Potassium is the principal intracellular cation and in case of ketoacidosis, it moves out of cells into the extracellular compartment to replace potassium lost as a result of glucose-induced osmotic dieresis; overstimulation of cardiac muscles is the result.

A Patient with Diabetic Ketoacidosis Has a Potassium Level of 5.5mEq/L