An Evaluation of Ketostix Strips

The usefulness of Ketostix as a semiquantitative screening procedure for the estimation of acetoacetate concentration in both plasma and urine has been established. Because of the reasonably constant relationship of β-hydroxybutyrate to acetoacetate, Ketostix also gives a good indication of the (β-hydroxybutyrate concentration. By reading the Ketostix after thirty seconds instead of the recommended fifteen seconds, the sensitivity of the reaction is increased. The use of Ketostix to examine the plasma from patients with diabetic acidosis will reliably distinguish ketotic from nonketotic cases and is strongly recommended for this purpose.