Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Value of Point-of-care Ketones in Assessing Dehydration and Acidosis in Children With Gastroenteritis.
Children with gastroenteritis often develop dehydration with metabolic acidosis. Serum ketones are frequently elevated in this population. The goal was to determine the relationship between initial serum ketone concentration and both the degree of dehydration and the magnitude of acidosis. ⋯ Children with gastroenteritis and dehydration have elevated serum ketone concentrations that correlate with both degree of dehydration and magnitude of metabolic acidosis. Point-of-care serum ketone measurement may be a useful tool to inform management decisions at the point of triage or in the initial evaluation of children with gastroenteritis and dehydration.