Acetone from breath

Exposure to acetone results mostly from breathing air, drinking water, or coming in contact with products or soil that contains acetone. Significant numbers of workers are potentially exposed to acetone. The general population may be exposed through the use of products such as paints, adhesives, cosmetics, and rubber cement. 

Tin healthy people, acetone is formed in very small amounts from acetoacetate, which is easily de-carboxylated, either spontaneously or by the action of acetoacetate decarboxylase (Fig. 17-18). Because individuals with untreated diabetes produce large quantities of acetoacetate, their blood contains significant amounts of acetone, which is toxic. Acetone is volatile and imparts a characteristic odor to the breath, which is sometimes useful in diagnosing diabetes. ... 

Ition of the ketone bodies may be as high as 5000 mg/24 hr, and the blood concentration may reach 90 mg/dl (versus less than 3 mg/dL in normal individuals). A frequent symptom of diabetic ketoacidosis is a fruity odor on the breath which result from increased production of acetone. An elevation of the ketone body concentration in the blood results in acidemia. [Note The carboxyl group of a ketone body has a pKa about 4. Therefore, each ketone body loses a proton (H+) as it circulates in the blood, which lowers the pH of the body. Also, excretion of glucose and ketone bodies in the urine results in dehydration of the body. Therefore, the increased number of H+, circulating in a decreased volume of plasma, can cause severe acidosis (ketoacidosis)]. Ketoacidosis may also be seen in cases of fasting (see p. 327). 

The IUPAC rules for naming ketones append the suffix -one to the parent name. The position of the ketone carbon is indicated by a locant number. Figure 11.37 gives three nomenclature examples of ketones. The simplest ketone, propanone, is commonly known as acetone. Acetone is an excellent solvent for most organic compounds and is the main ingredient in fingernail polish remover. Acetone is one of the ketone bodies that build up in the bloodstream from excessive metabolism of fats. Because ketones typically have a sweet taste and odor, this can give a patient with ketosis a characteristic acetone breath. ... 

Although acetone is a very minor product of normal metabolism, diabetics whose disease is not well-managed often have high levels of ketone bodies in their circulation. The acetone that is formed from decarboxylation of acetoacetate is excreted through the lungs, causing characteristic acetone breath. ... 

Avoid breathing cyclohexane, hexane, adipoyl chloride, or sebacoyl chloride vapors. Work carefully to avoid skin contact with any of the liquid reagents wear chemically resistant rubber gloves. Do not ingest reagents. Avoid eye contact wear chemical safety goggles. Cyclohexane, hexane, acetone, and alcohol are flammable keep away from heat and open flames. Follow precautions on the containers. The nylon rope should not be handled with bare hands until after it has been washed thoroughly with alcohol and dried. 

Avoid breathing the vapors emitting from the test tubes work in a well-venti- if lated area or in a fume hood. These reactions require high temperatures do fi I not handle hot test tubes with your bare hands, and allow the polymers to cool g before handling them. Acetone is flammable. Use in a well-ventilated area and H do not allow the liquid to come in contact with your skin. Be sure to wear g chemical safety goggles at all times. m... 

Most patients with DKA appear ill and weak. They are usually hypotensive and have poor skin turgor, indicating severe dehydration. If the patient is able to give a history, symptoms of polyuria, polydipsia, and weight loss are invariably present. The breath may have a classic fruity odor due to the excretion of acetone in expired breath. Acetone arises from the spontaneous, nonenzymatic decarboxylation of acetoacetate ... 

Ketone bodies, produced mainly in the mitochondria of liver cells from acetyl-CoA, provide much of the energy to heart tissue, and during starvation to the brain. They inclnde acetone, acetoacetate and /3-hydroxybutyrate (Figure 1.11). The levels of acetone are mnch lower than those of the other two ketone bodies it cannot be converted back to acetyl-CoA and so is excreted in the urine or breathed out. 

Lecture bottles of HCI and CO2 gas must be strapped or chained securely to the laboratory bench. Work on a vacuum system requires preliminary review of procedures and careful execution in order to avoid damage to the apparatus and possible injury from broken glass in addition, the liquid nitrogen used for cold traps must be handled properly (see Appendix C). Safety glasses must be worn. Acetone is volatile at room temperature and should be handled carefully clean up any spills and avoid breathing the vapor. 

She hadn t moved. My hands were uncoordinated as I tore the blanket from her. Please, please, he alive. Her skin was pale aiH cold, but she was still breathing, the tell-tale acetone odour treacherous sweet. Thank God. I wanted to hug her, give her some ofn warmth, but she was in urgent need of fer more than that. 

Alcohol-induced ketoacidosis must be differentiated from a similar metabolic complication in diabetes melli-tUS (E.S. Dillon et al., 1940 D.W. Jenkins et al., 1971). With chronic alcohol consumption and concurrent malnutrition, metabolic acidosis is caused by a still unclear multifaceted pathogenesis (hypoinsulinaemia, lipolysis, extreme increase in free fatty acids, rise in ketone bodies). The clinical picture shows nausea, vomiting, dehydration, hyperventilation, fruity odour on breath, aceton-uria and acetonaemia as well as a moderate form of hyperglycaemia. This syndrome probably occurs more often than has been hitherto assumed. (54)... 

The glucagon/insulin ratio can rise under certain pathological conditions (i.e., insulin-dependent diabetes). A small percentage of diabetics develop ketoacidosis, a condition that results from the overproduction and underuhlization of ketone bodies. Increased concentrations of p hydmxybutyrate and acetoacetate, which are acids, can cause a drop in the pH of the blood. This acidification, known as acidosis, can impair the ablLity of the heart to contract and result in a loss of consciousness and coma, which, in rare cases, may be fatal. Diabetic ketoacidosis may manifest as abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. A subject may hyperventilate (breathe quickly and deeply) to correct acidosis, as described under Sodium, Potassium, and Water in Chapter 10. It is the responsibility of the clinician, when confronted with a subject whose breath smells of acetone or who is hyperventilating, to facilitate prompt treatment. 

The oxide-semiconductor-based ethanol sensor is being used to screen intoxicated drivers. In the test condition on the road, the ambient concentrations of CO and N02 can be up to 100 and lOppm due to the emissions from gasoline and diesel engines, respectively.61 The results shown in Fig. 12.6 suggest that the present sensors may be applied for selective detection of ethanol. Acetone is a very rare component in an ordinary ambient atmosphere. However, the expiration of a diabetes patient can contain acetone.62 Acetone concentration in breath air can reach up to 300 ppm in the case of an aceto-acidotic coma related to diabetes mellitus.63,64 This might interfere the ethanol sensor. A high selectivity to ethanol is required for such applications. The SZ sensor at 300°C and the ZW sensor at 400°C can satisfy these requirements. On the contrary, to examine the health condition of a diabetes patient, selective detection of acetone without the interference with alcohol is desirable. In this case, the W sensor at 400°C will be of advantageous. 

Acetone, CH3COCH3, is present in the breath of people suffering from diabetes. 

Figure 12. PTR-MS measurements of nose space concentrations of leaf-wound VOCs appearing when endive is eaten. (A) More hexenal (M81 ) is released from the external, green leaves of endive. (B) The concentrations of emitted hexenal from a green endive leaf chewed without salad oil are much higher than the concentrations from the leaf that was covered by oil. In each case the concentration of acetone (M59 ) in nose space air indicated individual breaths. Data replotted from Ref. [81].

IVIore than one person, found unconscious on the streets of some metropoUs, has been carted to jail only to die of complications arising from uncontrolled diabetes meUitus. Others are fortunate enough to arrive in hospital emergency rooms. A quick test for diabetes meUitus-induced coma is the odor of acetone on the breath of the afflicted person. Acetone is one of several metaboUtes produced by diabetics that are known collectively as ketone bodies. 

When Di Abietes could not be aroused from an afternoon nap, her roommate called an ambulance, and Di was brought to the emergency room of the hospital in a coma. Her roommate reported that Di had been feeling nauseated and drowsy and had been vomiting for 24 hours. Di is clinically dehydrated, and her blood pressure is low. Her respirations are deep and rapid, and her pulse rate is rapid. Her breath has the fruity odor of acetone. 

Comatose patients in diabetic ketoacidosis have the smell of acetone (a derivative of the ketone body acetoacetate) on their breath. In addition, DKA patients have deep, relatively rapid respirations typical of acidotic patients (Kussmaul respirations). These respirations result from an acidosis-induced stimulation of the respiratory center in the brain. More CO2 is exhaled in an attempt to reduce the amount of acid in the body H -1- HCO3 — H2CO3 H2O + CO2 (exhaled). 

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