Reference intervals for urinary catecholamines and metabolites from birth to adulthood

Area of Science:

• Clinical Chemistry
• Pediatric Endocrinology
• Biomarker Discovery

Background:

• Biogenic amines are crucial biomarkers for neuroendocrine function.
• Accurate reference intervals are essential for diagnosing pediatric conditions, particularly neural crest tumors.
• Existing reference ranges may not adequately cover the pediatric and adolescent age spectrum.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish comprehensive reference intervals for urinary biogenic amine excretion in individuals from birth to adulthood.
• To provide age-specific data for improved diagnostic accuracy in pediatric neuroendocrine disorders.
• To investigate potential sex-based differences in biogenic amine excretion during early childhood.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of urinary free catecholamines, total metanephrines, vanillylmandelic acid, and homovanillic acid in 865 outpatients.
• Categorization of participants into nine age groups from birth to 25 years.
• High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with amperometric detection for precise analyte quantification.

Main Results:

• Urinary analyte-to-creatinine ratios showed a gradual decline from birth to 15-18 years, reaching adult levels.
• No significant sex-based differences were observed, except for lower epinephrine and metanephrine excretion in girls under one year.
• Established age-appropriate reference ranges for key biogenic amines.

Conclusions:

• The study provides essential age-specific reference ranges for urinary biogenic amines.
• These data support the diagnosis of neural crest tumors in children and adolescents.
• The findings contribute to a better understanding of pediatric neuroendocrine biomarker development.