Plasma and Urine Malondialdehyde Levels of Infants with Acute Bronchopneumonia in the Assessment of Oxidative Response

Abstract

Objective: Acute lower respiratory tract infections are seen as a major public health problem in many developing countries. This study was carried out in order to evaluate plasma and urine malonyldialdehyde (MDA) levels which represents the lipid peroxidation and hence of oxidative stress in infants diagnosed with acute bronchopneumonia which is a cause of high mortality and morbidity in children.Material and methods: This case-control study was carried out at the department of Paediatrics, Ministry of Health Bakirkoy Sadi Konuk Training and Research Hospital in 2005. The patient group comprised of 25 patients who were admitted to the hospital with the diagnosis of acute bronchopneumonia. The control group consisted of 10 healthy children of the same age range who had no pathological findings on physical examination. MDA values of urine and plasma samples were compared between both groups as an oxidative stress indicator.Results: The mean serum MDA value of the patient group was 3.91 ± 1.55 micromol/L and that of the control group was measured as 1.03 ± 0.1micromol/L. The difference was significantly higher (p 0.05).Conclusion: The urine MDA values on the first day of follow-up and the plasma MDA values may be used as a parameter in the diagnosis and following-up treatment of oxidative stress in the infants with acute bronchopneumonia.