SERUM LEVELS OF PREALBUMIN IN UNDERNOURIS HED CHILDREN AND CONTROLS WITH OR WITHOUT ASSOCIATED CLINICAL INFECTION

Due to its short half life and high tryptophan content, prealbumin has been considered a sensitive indicator of protein and/or energy defici ency. In addition, prealbumin diminishes during the acute phase respon se elicited by either infection or tissue injury. Serum levels of prea lbumin were determined in undernourished children with or without asso ciated clinical infection and in their infected ol non-infected contro ls matched for age, sex, race and socioeconomical conditions. Serum le vels of prealbumin were significantly lower in undernourished than in control children without overt infections. On the other hand, the conc entrations of serum prealbumin diminished significantly and to similar levels both in undernourished and control children with associated cl inical infection as compared with those observed in non infected child ren belonging to the similar nutritional status. A positive correlatio n was found between prealbumin level and the Z-scores of weight-for-ag e, height-for-age and weight-for height in children without associated infections, which dissappeared in clinically infected patients. Thus, prealbumin is a marker of undernutrition in the absence of infection and could be an earlier and more sensitive indicator of actual undernu trition caused by the metabolic effects of acute phase cytokines, than the anthropometrical measurements used here.