Table 2.

Expected qualitative patterns of acetone and beta-hydroxybutyrate across selected clinical contexts

Condition	Acetone pattern	Beta-hydroxybutyrate pattern
Isopropanol exposure/metabolism	May be elevated as IPA is metabolized to acetone; acetone may remain detectable after IPA falls	Not the primary abnormality unless concurrent ketoacidosis is present
Starvation ketoacidosis	May be elevated from endogenous ketone metabolism	Elevated; typically lower than severe DKA but variable by severity and duration
Diabetic ketoacidosis	Often elevated as part of ketone metabolism	Markedly elevated and a major contributor to anion-gap acidosis