Raised salivary endotoxin concentration as a predictor of infection in pediatric leukemia patients.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether salivary endotoxin could be used as a predictor of infection in pediatric patients (n = 12).

STUDY

DESIGN

Oropharyngeal carriage of aerobic gram-negative bacilli was monitored and salivary endotoxin concentration determined. Age-matched and gender-matched healthy children were used as controls.

RESULTS

The range of salivary endotoxin concentrations in the healthy pediatric population was similar to the range previously reported for healthy adults (0-20 ng/mL; 0-240 EU/mL).

CONCLUSION

It was found that salivary endotoxin was not an accurate predictor of sepsis and did not correlate with oropharyngeal carriage of aerobic gram-negative bacilli.