Cetonuria en el diagnóstico de la apendicitis aguda / Ketonuria in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis

Introducción: la alta incidencia de apendicitis aguda, la falta de predictores seguros en su diagnóstico y el hecho comprobado que en los cuerpos de guardia hospitalarios no se mide de manera rutinaria la presencia de cuerpos cetónicos en la orina de los pacientes, hacen necesario verificar las escasas evidencias existentes acerca de la cetonuria como predictor. Objetivo: determinar la posible fiabilidad de la cetonuria en el diagnóstico de la apendicitis aguda. Método: se realizó un estudio descriptivo y prospectivo, en el Servicio de Cirugía General del Hospital Clínico Quirúrgico Provincial Celia Sánchez Manduley de Manzanillo, provincia Granma, desde diciembre de 2014 hasta abril de 2015. El universo estuvo compuesto por 362 pacientes diagnosticados de apendicitis aguda. Se analizó la orina de cada paciente, mediante tiras reactivas y la reacción de Imbert, para identificar cuerpos cetónicos. Se confeccionó una ficha contentiva de las posibles causas de cetonuria, que se cuantificaron con la prueba de diferencia de proporciones. Los resultados se presentaron en tablas y gráficos. Resultados: de los pacientes diagnosticados con apendicitis aguda, 21 por ciento presentaron cetonuria. No se identificaron diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre la detección de cetonuria mediante tiras reactivas y la reacción de Imbert: ambas pruebas mostraron especificidad de 90 por ciento y bajas sensibilidad (21 por ciento) y efectividad (37 por ciento). En la mayoría de los casos fue posible atribuir la presencia de cuerpos cetónicos a causas conocidas.Conclusiones: se sugiere que la cetonuria no es un elemento predictor fiable en el diagnóstico de apendicitis aguda(AU)

Introduction: the high prevalence of acute appendicitis, the lack of reliable predictors of this disease and the fact that in the bodies ward of hospital is not routinely measured the presence of ketone bodies in the urine of patients, it is necessary to verify the little evidence available about ketosis as a predictor of acute appendicitis. Objective: to determine the possible reliability of ketonuria in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis. Method: a quantitative, prospective, observational and descriptive study with analytical phases was performed at the General Surgery Service of the Celia Sánchez Manduley Provincial Surgical Clinic Hospital in Manzanillo, Granma, from December 2014 to April 2015.The universe consisted of 362 patients diagnosed with acute appendicitis. Each patient's urine was analyzed by means of test strips and the Imbert reaction to identify ketone bodies. A tabulation of the possible ketosis causes was carried out, which were quantified with the difference test of proportions. The results were presented in tables and graphs.Results: taking into account all the patients diagnosed with acute appendicitis, 21 percent presented ketosis. No statistically significant differences were found between the detection of ketosis by test strips and the reaction of Imbert: both tests showed specificity of 90 percent and low sensitivity (21 percent) and effectiveness (37 percent); in most cases it was possible to attribute the presence of ketone bodies to known causes.Conclusions: it is suggested that ketonuria is not a reliable predictor in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis(AU)

Neonatal onset of medium-chain acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase deficiency with confusing biochemical features.

A female neonate was seen because of shock, ketosis, and undetectable blood glucose. Initial urinary findings indicated the possibility of a defect of fatty acid beta-oxidation; subsequent studies showed that she had medium-chain acyl-coenzyme. A dehydrogenase deficiency. This case highlights the fact that the initial symptoms may occur in the first few days of life, and that the presence of ketosis does not exclude the possibility of a fatty acid oxidation defect; the profiles of urinary organic acids and acylglycines may not be characteristic at that time.