3-Hydroxyhexanoic acid: an abnormal metabolite in urine and serum of diabetic ketoacidotic patients.

A new organic acid, 3-hydroxyhexanoic acid, was identified in the urine or serum of five diabetic patients with ketoacidosis. The compound was not detected in the urine and serum of healthy subjects or diabetic patients without ketosis. The compound was also detected in the urine of a non-diabetic ketotic patient with dicarboxylic aciduria, suggesting that the occurrence of the compound is more related to the ketotic state than to "diabetic" ketosis.