- Title
- Fasting or starving? Measurement of blood ketone levels in 100 fasted elective and emergency adult surgical patients at an Australian tertiary hospital
- Creator
- Burstal, R. J.; Reilly, J. R.; Burstal, B.
- Relation
- Anaesthesia and intensive care Vol. 46, Issue 5, p. 463-467
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0310057X1804600506
- Publisher
- Sage
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2018
- Description
- Prolonged fasting leads to a shift from carbohydrate to fat as the primary energy source, resulting in the production of ketones such as beta-hydroxybutyrate. Hyperketonaemia and ketoacidosis have been observed in young children fasting for surgery. The aim of this study was to investigate ketonaemia in adults fasted for surgery. One hundred non-diabetic adults presenting for elective or emergency surgery were assessed for the presence of hyperketonaemia (beta-hydroxybutyrate levels more than 1 mmol/l), and the relationship between beta-hydroxybutyrate, blood glucose and fasting duration was investigated. Three of 100 patients demonstrated hyperketonaemia, one of whom had ingested a ketogenic supplement the evening prior to surgery. No patient demonstrated beta-hydroxybutyrate levels suggestive of ketoacidosis (above 3 mmol/l). No relationship between fasting duration and ketone or glucose levels was observed. We found no evidence that prolonged preoperative fasting led to beta-hydroxybutyrate levels consistent with ketoacidosis.
- Subject
- 3-hydroxybutyric acid; acidosis; beta-hydroxybutyrate; blood glucose; insulin resistance; hypoglycaemia
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1459174
- Identifier
- uon:45596
- Identifier
- ISSN:0310-057X
- Language
- eng
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