title: Oxidative stress biomarkers in pediatric sepsis: a prospective observational pilot study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Oxidative stress is known to participate in the progression of sepsis. Definite data regarding the behavior of oxidative stress biomarkers in pediatric sepsis is still lacking. This study hypothesized that oxidative stress occurs in pediatric sepsis and that the magnitude of the redox derangement is associated with worse clinical progression.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-two previously healthy pediatric patients with sepsis and a group of control subjects were included. Oxidative stress and inflammatory activity biomarkers were determined in blood samples. Patients were prospectively followed until their discharge or death.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients with non-severe and severe sepsis showed higher levels of plasmatic antioxidant capacity, lower erythrocyte thiol index, lower superoxide dismutase and catalase activities, higher glutathione peroxidase activity, and higher plasmatic F2-isoprostanes concentration than controls. Patients with severe sepsis had higher NF-kappaB activation than those with non-severe sepsis. Although we observed changes in some biomarkers in patients with worse clinical evolution, the explored biomarkers did not correlate with clinical estimators of outcome.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Oxidative stress occurs in pediatric sepsis, resulting in oxidative damage. The explored biomarkers are not useful as outcome predictors in the studied population. The behavior of these biomarkers still needs to be addressed in broader groups of pediatric patients with sepsis.
authors.affiliation: a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit , Hospital de Niños Roberto del Río , Santiago , Chile.
authors.forename: Víctor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Molina
authors.affiliation: a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit , Hospital de Niños Roberto del Río , Santiago , Chile.
authors.forename: Bettina
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: von Dessauer
authors.affiliation: b Laboratory of Renal Pathophysiology, Molecular and Clinical Pharmacology Program , Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile , Santiago , Chile.
authors.forename: Ramón
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rodrigo
authors.affiliation: a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit , Hospital de Niños Roberto del Río , Santiago , Chile.
authors.forename: Cristian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Carvajal
mesh_terms: D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002374:Catalase / Q000097:blood; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D028441:F2-Isoprostanes / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008315:Malondialdehyde / Q000097:blood; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000097:blood; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000502:physiology; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018805:Sepsis / Q000097:blood*; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D015415:Biomarkers; D028441:F2-Isoprostanes; D016328:NF-kappa B; D008315:Malondialdehyde; D002374:Catalase; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase
keywords: NF-kappaB; Pediatric sepsis; biomarkers; inflammation; oxidative stress