TITLE:
Plasma Citrulline Concentrations in Neonates and Infants with or without Gastrointestinal Disease and Bowel Resection
AUTHORS:
Oscar R. Herrera, Michael C. Storm, Richard A. Helms
KEYWORDS:
Plasma Citrulline, Gastrointestinal Function, Biomarker, Neonates, Infants, Parenteral Nutrition
JOURNAL NAME:
Food and Nutrition Sciences,
Vol.7 No.12,
October
14,
2016
ABSTRACT: Various studies have shown a role for citrulline as a gut mass biomarker in patients
with short bowel syndrome. Our hypothesis is that plasma citrulline is both a gastrointestinal
(GI) function and a gut mass marker. Our objective was to validate
previous observations, by prospectively analyzing plasma citrulline concentrations in
patients with GI disease with or without bowel resection, compared to patients
without GI disease. Plasma from blood samples of parenteral nutrition fed neonates
and infants was obtained. Samples were analyzed by ion-exchange chromatography.
Data collected included age, diagnoses and surgical documentation of bowel resection.
Patients were classified into 3 main groups: those without GI disease nor resection
(Group 1), those with GI disease but no resection (Group 2), and those with GI
disease and resection (Group 3). Group medians were compared using Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA. Seventeen samples were evaluated. Patients in Group 3 were older
compared to patients in Groups 1 and 2; median age (in days) 156 vs. 12 vs. 57 respectively.
Median (range) plasma citrulline concentrations were 20.9 (14.9 - 29.0)
μmol/L, 8.7 (0.5 - 20.0) μmol/L and 9.6 (5.9 - 13.2) μmol/L for Groups 1, 2 and 3 respectively.
There were significant differences among medians and sample distributions
between Groups 1 and 2 and between 1 and 3 (p