title: Serum cystatin-C values in children by age and their fluctuation during dehydration.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Serum creatinine level (Cr) is extensively used as an index of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) with bedside patients. As serum Cr level differ by the muscle volume, the use of serum Cr as an index of GFR has long been considered problematic in children.
  
  
  METHODS
  The subjects of this study were 135 healthy children aged from 1 to 15-years-old. As a pathological condition, the changes in serum cystatin C (Cys-C) in the children whose blood urea nitrogen exceeded 20 mg/dL during the acute stage of dehydration were also investigated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean serum Cys-C value was 0.67 +/- 0.19 mg/L on the whole. There was not any male-female difference. The mean serum Cys-C values of the 12 cases in the acute stage and the recovery stage were 0.61 +/- 0.12 mg/L and 0.64 +/- 0.14 mg/L, respectively, indicating no significant difference.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Serum Cys-C is considered as a favorable index of GFR in children because it is not influenced by age and sex. As it is not influenced by the prerenal factors either, serum Cys-C is useful in children over 1-years-old.
authors: Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Kurume University Medical Center, 155-1 Kokubu-Machi, Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan 839-0863. takuwa@mx51.tiki.ne.jp
authors: Satoshi
authors: S
authors: Takuwa
authors: Yuhei
authors: Y
authors: Ito
authors: Kosuke
authors: K
authors: Ushijima
authors: Kazuo
authors: K
authors: Uchida
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D055316:Cystatin C; D015891:Cystatins / Q000097:blood*; D003681:Dehydration / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D012016:Reference Values
chemical_list: C525030:CST3 protein, human; D055316:Cystatin C; D015891:Cystatins