What does high urine ketones mean

I believe everyone pays great attention to their physical health. Nowadays, medical technology is very advanced and there are many examination methods. Urine test is a common method because it is easy to operate and more popular. Some people will have high urine ketone bodies during urine tests. Perhaps many people do not know what high urine ketone bodies mean, so let us explain what high urine ketone bodies mean.

1The significance of urine ketone bodies

(1) Diabetic ketoacidosis: Ketosis is caused by decreased sugar utilization and increased production of ketone bodies from fat breakdown. Urine ketone testing is extremely valuable when acidosis or coma occurs in patients with uncontrolled or inadequately treated diabetes. It should be distinguished from hypoglycemia, lactic acidosis due to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, or hyperglycemia and hyperosmolarity diabetic coma. Urine ketone bodies are positive in ketoacidosis, while in the latter, urine ketone bodies generally do not increase. However, it should be noted that when the renal function of patients with diabetic ketoacidosis is severely damaged and the renal threshold is increased, urine ketone bodies may also decrease or even disappear completely.

(2) Non-diabetic ketosis: Ketonuria can occur during the fever period of infectious diseases such as pneumonia, typhoid fever, sepsis, tuberculosis, severe diarrhea, vomiting, hunger, long-term fasting, and after general anesthesia. This situation is quite common. Pregnant women often experience ketoacidosis and ketonuria due to pregnancy reactions, vomiting, and eating less, which leads to a decrease in body fat and a significant increase in metabolism.

(3) Poisoning: such as chloroform, ether anesthesia, phosphorus poisoning, etc.

(4) Taking biguanide hypoglycemic drugs: such as chlorpromazine, because the drug has the effect of inhibiting cellular respiration, blood sugar may be lowered but ketonuria may be positive.

Qualitative test of urine ketone bodies is often related to diabetes, pregnancy, malnutrition and chronic diseases. It is usually expressed with a “plus sign”, but the results of instrumental measurements are often expressed in a semi-quantitative manner. See the table for the relationship between the “plus sign” and semi-quantitative expression results.

2What is the reason for high ketone bodies in urine test

If you are a woman, this test standard is inaccurate before, during or after your period, especially for pregnant women. Due to regular prenatal checkups, you will find that the values ​​for each period will be different. Even if the value is high, the doctor will immediately ask you to retest it after a few minutes, and the result will be different. Therefore, there is basically no need to worry too much about the ketone body index during this period.

Generally speaking, for urine tests of men and women, the middle section must be taken, because the beginning and the end may be infected with bacteria, which can easily cause numerical deviations. In particular, after taking the sample, it should be returned to the window as quickly as possible. Taking too long will also lead to inaccurate values.