The value of the capillary blood ketone measurement in rating of dehydration: An experimental study

Abstract

Aim: In this study, we aimed to determine the value of blood ketone levels in diagnosing and classifying dehydration. Material and Methods: A total of 40 rats were included into the study. Rats were categorized into four groups according to their weight loss: control group (no weight loss), mild dehydration group (3 – 5% weight loss), moderate dehydration group (5 – 10% weight loss) and severe dehydration group (>10% weight loss). The blood samples taken from the rats were analyzed for capillary blood ketone levels, venous blood ketone levels and the other biochemical parameters. Results: There was no significant difference between four study groups according to the venous blood ketone levels and capillary ketone levels. Only Na levels were significantly different between study groups among all the metabolic parameters. (p=0.044). After categorizing the study groups as control and dehydration groups according to the weight loss, a borderline significance was established for Na (146±6 vs 151±2.5; difference: 4.2 mmol/L, %95 CI: -0.2 to 8.6, respectively; p=0.06) and capillary blood ketone (0.4 (IQR:0.3-0.5) vs 0.6 (IQR:0.4-0.7), respectively; p=0.097), while other parameters did not differ significantly. The capillary blood ketone had a sensitivity of 96.7% (95% CI: 82.8 -99.9), specificity of 10% (95% CI: 0.3-44.5) for detecting dehydration. Conclusions: This study showed that there was no significant difference for the development of ketosis in dehydration. However, the borderline significance for the capillary ketone levels indicates the necessity of human studies.