Plasma Metabolic Profiling of Pediatric Sepsis in a Chinese Cohort

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Infectious Diseases
• Metabolomics
• Biomarker Discovery

Background:

• Sepsis is a critical pediatric concern involving bacterial bloodstream infections and severe systemic responses.
• Children with sepsis often present with rapid onset, high fever, or chills.
• Early identification and understanding of sepsis pathogenesis are crucial for improving outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct comprehensive metabolomic profiling of pediatric sepsis patients.
• To identify specific metabolic alterations distinguishing sepsis cases from healthy controls.
• To discover metabolic biomarkers for sepsis prognosis and bacterial identification.

Main Methods:

• Plasma samples from pediatric sepsis patients (n=84) and healthy controls (n=59) underwent metabolomic profiling.
• Diagnostic models were built using MetaboAnalyst, R packages, and statistical methods (OPLS-DA, PCA, ANOVA).
• Metabolite analysis compared sepsis survivors with non-survivors and patients with detected microbes.

Main Results:

• A panel of metabolites was identified with high predictive value for discriminating sepsis cases from controls.
• Altered metabolites in survivors versus non-survivors were linked to amino acid, fatty acid, and carbohydrate metabolism.
• Nine metabolites, including organic acids and fatty acids, were more abundant in patients with detected microbes, suggesting potential for bacterial species identification.

Conclusions:

• Metabolomic profiling effectively distinguishes pediatric sepsis patients from healthy individuals.
• Metabolic alterations, especially in fatty acid pathways, are implicated in sepsis pathogenesis and prognosis.
• Metabolomics offers a promising alternative or adjunct to blood cultures for identifying bacterial species in sepsis.