[Inflammation mediators (C reactive protein) in children with proteic-energetic malnutrition and in eutrophic children].

A multicentrical clinical study was designed with the purpose of measuring C-reactive protein (CRP) in normal and malnourished children, with and without infection. Blood samples were collected without anticoagulant from 109 venezuelan children, between the ages of 6 months and 6 years. The statistical analysis was carried out using the t Student and ANOVA. The values of CRP were higher (80.80 +/- 38.39 mg/L) in severe malnourished infected than non-infected malnourished children (8.17 +/- 3.06 mg/L, p < 0.001). There were statistical differences between severe malnourished infected and eutrophic infected children (p < 0.001). There was also a difference between the non infected, severely malnourished children and the rest of them, although they kept their values within a normal range. These findings indicate that the malnourished child is able to produce CRP in response to infection but in a different way that the eutrophic child. In children without infection, the CRP levels were kept within the normal range.