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Citrulline levels in a paediatric age group: does measurement on dried blood spots have additional value?

Linde Goossens1, Mieke Bouvry, Piet Vanhaesebrouck

  • 1Department of Neonatology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium.

Clinica Chimica Acta; International Journal of Clinical Chemistry
|December 7, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Reference intervals for plasma and dried blood spot (DBS) citrulline in children are widely dispersed. DBS citrulline measurements offer no added value over plasma for establishing these pediatric reference ranges.

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Pediatric Medicine
  • Clinical Chemistry

Background:

  • Citrulline serves as a key indicator of absorptive enterocyte mass.
  • Plasma and dried blood spot (DBS) samples are viable for citrulline level assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Establish reference intervals for plasma and DBS citrulline concentrations in children.
  • Investigate the impact of age and gender on these citrulline levels.

Main Methods:

  • Analyzed plasma and DBS citrulline concentrations in 151 healthy children (1 month to 20 years).
  • Utilized Liquid Chromatography-tandem Mass Spectrometry for precise quantification.
  • Calculated reference values adhering to International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and National Committee on Clinical Laboratory Standards guidelines.

Main Results:

  • No statistically significant effect of age or gender on plasma or DBS citrulline concentrations was observed.
  • Established pediatric reference intervals for plasma citrulline: 13.31-69.05 μmol/L.
  • Established pediatric reference intervals for DBS citrulline: 23.70-49.04 μmol/L.

Conclusions:

  • Pediatric reference intervals for citrulline exhibit considerable dispersion.
  • Dried blood spot (DBS) citrulline measurements do not enhance the calculation of reference intervals compared to plasma analysis in children.
Abstract

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