Correlation of Levels of |[agr]||[ndash]|Defensins Determined by HPLC-ESI-MS in Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid With the Diagnosis of Pneumonia in Premature Neonates

摘要

The presence of α-defensins in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was investigated in a cohort of preterm newborns with gestational age (GA) ≤30 wk. Specimens were collected during the first week of life from 24 preterm neonates mechanically ventilated. The studied population was divided into two groups: pneumonia group of nine neonates suffering from pulmonary infection (GA: 26.1 ± 2.1 wk; birth weight: 787.4 ± 309.9 g), with or without associated bloodstream infection, and nonpneumonia group of 15 neonates (GA: 27.7 ± 2.0 wk; birth weight: 1019.0 ± 319.8 g). BALF culture was positive for CONS (n = 5), Staphylococcus aureus (n = 1), and Candida spp (n = 3). BALF samples were analyzed by HPLC-electrospray Ionization-mass spectrometer. The α-defensins 1–4 concentration, absolute and differential white cells count were measured. Relative amounts of α-defensins 1–4 and the absolute number of neutrophils were found significantly higher in the pneumonia group with respect to the nonpneumonia group (p Abbreviations: BALF, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid; GA, gestational age; ELF, epithelial lining fluid; ESI, electrospray ionization; MS, mass spectrometer; XIC, eXtracted ion current