Acetonaemia in children

The term Acetonaemia is used in this thesis to denote those changes in the blood and urine which occur in the condition of Acid Intoxication, as well as the clinical manifestations. These changes are brought about by the presence of acetone bodies, viz: aceto-acetic acid, B-oxybutyric acid and Acetone. for this purpose the term "acidosis" may be defined as a reduction of the plasma bicarbonate. Such reduction may or may not be due to, or associated with, an excess of ketone bodies in the blood; that is to say, a condition of acidosis may be prevent and frequently .is, without acetonaernia etc. As a matter of fact it has long been known that ketosis may occur in the presence of an alkalosis.Ketosis is, of course, more commonly met with in children than in adults, because, in the former, owing to their comparatively poorly developed cerebral inhibition, with consequent lack of emotional control, greater and more frequent calls are made on the glycogen stores Of the liver. It is for this reason too, I think,that the symptoms described in this article are more marked in nervous children, but they are certainly not confined to them. The one biochemical finding which is present in all these children is a lowered plasma bicarbonate, though the diminution may only be slight. Until our knowledge of the subject of the condition more complete, the term ''the acid child" would be correct and convenient, and would best describe the patient.The development of this subject has been very gradual, although it has occupied a prominent place in the field of medicine for several decades. Numerous erroneous conceptions have arisen from time to time, acid these are being eliminated only v4ith difficulty. In recent year there has been renewed activity in the study of acidosis, particularly in tho e types of non -diabetic origin