Novel Screening Tools For the Evaluation and Management of Malnourished Children in the Developing World

The purpose of this study is to validate novel screening tools for the evaluation and management of malnourished infants and children in the developing world. The study will validate 2-D diffusion point of care testing (POCT) for the rapid analysis of leptin and adiponectin, as these cytokines have been shown to predict mortality in malnourished infants and children. The study will enroll 20 participants, 10 overweight or obese adolescents presenting to the Duke Division of Pediatric Endocrinology outpatient clinics, in whom leptin is expected to be high and adiponectin low, and 10 premature or small for gestational age infants hospitalized in the Duke Transitional Care Nursery, in whom leptin is expected to be low and adiponectin high. Informed consent will be obtained and 0-1 mL of blood will be collected and analyzed using the 2-D POCT and commercial ELISA assays. To reduce potential risks associated with venipuncture and/or finger or heelstick, blood draws for the purposes of this study will take place only when blood sampling is performed at the request of the primary provider, and an attempt will be made to utilize scavenge samples from infants where applicable. The POCT will be validated against the commercial ELISA assays. The investigators will analyze the results of each assay in addition to the means and standard deviations of the POCT and ELISAs and will consider the POCT valid if their variation from ELISA is <20%. The long-term goal of this project is to utilize this novel technology to identify and treat high-risk malnourished infants and children before they have reached the stage of critical, life-threatening illness.