Changes in blood ketone body ratio: their significance after major hepatic resection
M. Ukikusa, K. Ozawa, Y. Shimahara, M. Asano, T. Nakatani and T. Tobe
Changes in the ratio of acetoacetate to 3-hydroxybutyrate (the ketone body
ratio) in arterial blood were investigated after massive liver resection in
patients and rabbits. In a patient who had had a successful hepatectomy,
the blood ketone body ratio decreased rapidly after the operation and then
returned to the preoperative level; whereas in a patient who had had an
unsuccessful hepatectomy, the blood ketone body ratio did not decrease
rapidly after the operation. In 70% hepatectomized rabbits, the blood
ketone body ratio decreased maximally nine hours after hepatectomy and then
returned gradually to a normal level. The blood ketone body ratio
paralleled the hepatic energy charge after 70% hepatectomy in rabbits. The
measurement of the blood ketone body ratio is very useful for evaluation of
the energy status of the remnant liver.
