RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Point-of-care measurements of blood ketones in newborns JF Archives of Disease in Childhood - Fetal and Neonatal Edition JO Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health SP F544 OP F546 DO 10.1136/archdischild-2018-316293 VO 104 IS 5 A1 Deborah L Harris A1 Philip J Weston A1 Jane E Harding YR 2019 UL http://fn.bmj.com/content/104/5/F544.abstract AB Objective Babies may use alternative cerebral fuels including ketones when blood glucose concentrations are low, but laboratory ketone measurements are slow and expensive. Point-of-care measurement of ketone concentrations, if sufficiently accurate, may provide useful information for clinical care.Patients and design Eligible babies were 35–42 weeks’ gestation, ≤10 days old and admitted to the newborn intensive care unit. At the time of clinically indicated blood tests, additional samples were taken to measure beta-hydroxybutyrate using a point-of-care analyser and the laboratory method.Results One-hundred and fifty babies had 142 paired samples. Overall point-of-care accuracy was excellent (mean difference 0.00 mmol/L) and precision was moderate (SD 0.18 mmol/L). A point-of-care measurement ≥0.4 mmol/L was highly predictive of a laboratory measurement ≥0.4 mmol/L (area under the curve 0.98).Conclusion Point-of-care measurement of blood beta-hydroxybutyrate concentrations is sufficiently accurate in newborns to be potentially useful in clinical care.Clinical trial registration number Registered with the Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN: 12616000784415. The study was registered before recruitment commenced.