[Evaluation of the inflammatory and nutritional status in children with cystic fibrosis].

The authors present a system for the appraisal of the nutritional and inflammatory condition in patients suffering from cystic fibrosis (CF) in the phase of apparent inactivity of pulmonary infection, using a system of indices based on the quantification of some plasmatic proteins. The plasmatic appraisals of 4 visceral proteins (albumin, thyroxine-binding prealbumin, retinol-binding protein and transferrin) and, as well, of 5 proteins of the acute phase (alpha-1-acid glycoprotein, alpha-1-antitrypsin, alpha-2-macroglobulin, haptoglobin and ceruloplasmin) were obtained in a control group of 16 healthy children and in another of 14 children affected by CF. With the proteic plasmatic appraisals of the control group, the knowledge of their biological value and after a statistical-mathematical analysis, the most sensitive, specific and independent proteins were determined for evaluating the nutritional and inflammatory condition, obtaining two simple formulas which were denominated Nutritional-Inflammatory Prognostic Indices (NIPI) A and B (NIPI A = alpha-1-acid glycoprotein + haptoglobin/albumin + prealbumin; NIPI B = haptoglobin/albumin). From the analysis of the results, it can be deduced that the children with CF are affected by an inflammatory process, very probably infectious.