Objectives: We aimed to investigate the thiol/disulfide balance in ketone positive (hyperemesis gravidarum) and ketone negative pregnant women with nausea and vomiting.
Material and methods: A total of 60 patients under the 14th week of pregnancy were included in this study, and they were divided into two groups. Group 1 included 30 pregnant women with ketone positive, group 2 included 30 ketone negative pregnant women with nausea, and vomiting.
Results: The native thiol, disulfide, and total thiol concentrations were measured using an automated method and compared among the two groups. There were also three indexes that are derived from disulfide, native and total thiol (Index 1 = 100 × disulfide/native thiol); (Index 2 = 100 × disulfide/total thiol); (Index 3 = 100 × native thiol/total thiol). When compared with Group 1 and Group 2, total thiol was high, native thiol was low but not statistically significant. Disulphide (p = 0.046), index 1 (p = 0.036) and index 3 (p = 0.034) were statistically significant.
Conclusions: Patients with ketone positive are shifting to OS direction due to lack of nutrients and electrolytes. This study emphasizes the therapeutic potential of antioxidant supplementation, which is becoming an increasingly used approach in treating the symptoms of women with ketone positive.
Keywords: hyperemesis gravidarum; nausea and vomiting; oxidative stress; thiol/disulfide homeostasis.