Bedside ketone determination in diabetic children with hyperglycemia and ketosis in the acute care setting

Objective: Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a serious complication of diabetes mellitus marked by characteristic biochemical derangements. Diagnosis and management involve frequent evaluation of these biochemical parameters. Reliable bedside equivalents for these laboratory studies may help reduce the time to treatment and reduce costs. Methods: We evaluated the precision and bias of a bedside serum ketone meter in the acute care setting. Serum ketone results using the Precision Xtra(TM) glucometer/ketone meter (Abbott Laboratories, MediSense Products Inc., Bedford, MA, USA) correlated strongly with the Children's Medical Center of Dallas' laboratory values within the meter's value range. Results: Meter ketone values steadily decreased during the treatment of DKA as pH and CO2 levels increased and acidosis resolved. Conclusion: Therefore, the meter may be useful in monitoring therapy for DKA. This meter may also prove useful in identifying patients at risk for DKA in physicians' offices or at home.