Acetonemia

Acetonemia is a pathological condition characterized by an increased level of acetone in the blood.

Acetone is formed in the liver during the breakdown of fats and proteins. Normally, it is excreted from the body through urine and breathing. If this process is disrupted, acetone accumulates in the blood - acetonemia develops.

Causes of acetonemia:

1. Diabetes mellitus, especially with decompensation. With a lack of insulin, lipolysis increases, resulting in the formation of an excess of ketone bodies, including acetone.

2. Fasting, carbohydrate-restricted diets.

3. Severe liver diseases.

4. Intoxication with ethanol, methanol.

5. Taking certain medications.

Clinical manifestations of acetonemia:

1. Smell of acetone from the mouth.

2. Nausea, vomiting.

3. Weakness, lethargy.

4. Headache.

5. Impaired consciousness in severe acetonemia.

Diagnosis is based on the detection of acetone in urine and blood.

Treatment is aimed at eliminating the cause of acetonemia. Correction of carbohydrate metabolism and hemodialysis are carried out. The prognosis depends on the underlying disease.

Acetonemia is one of many liver dysfunctions. They can be caused by a wide range of causes, including cirrhosis, hepatitis, alcoholism, certain medications, autoimmune diseases, toxic exposures and other causes. This text will describe acetonemia and its causes.

Acetonemia is the presence in the blood of increased levels of ketone bodies, which appear as a result of excessive use of adipose tissue as an energy source. Increased levels of ketone bodies are a consequence of the ongoing process of their synthesis by the liver, and not the result of insufficient expenditure. Then their excess is immediately excreted through the kidneys into the urine, and then with saliva into the oral cavity. Ketone bodies, such as acetone, acetoacetic acid and trihydric acid (β-hydroxybutyrate), are the result of metabolism carried out by the liver to meet the energy needs of body cells. Once all possible sources of nutrients have been exhausted, the body turns to using fat reserves to produce ketones. Under normal conditions, ketones are metabolic products and are eliminated during sleep in the form of carbon dioxide exhaled through the lungs. If there is an imbalance in the body between the body's need for nutrients and the liver's ability to remove metabolic waste products, ketones, instead of leaving the body through the lung, enter the venous blood. Thus, if there is dehydration or increased loss of electrolytes, the body may have too few amino acids and electrolytes necessary for the processes associated with the release and entry of the necessary substances into the body. And then the accumulation of ketone bodies - high-energy organic compounds - occurs in the blood plasma.