Determination of51Cr-EDTA clearance in infants by a single capillary blood sample

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Abstract
A method by which 51Cr-EDTA plasma clearance is determined from a single capillary blood sample (Clsc) was studied in 52 children less than 1 year old. The Clsc is calculated as the ratio between the injected dose and the total area under a transformed monoexponential function. The monoexponential curve is determined from the plasma activity 120 min after i.v. single injection of 51Cr-EDTA and a hypothetical initial activity calculated as the injected dose divided by the distribution space of 51Cr-EDTA. The distribution space was estimated from the body surface area. The rate constant of the monoexponential function is transformed by an empirically determined factor to make the area under the curve identical to the area under the true plasma disappearance curve. The Clsc was compared with 51Cr-EDTA plasma clearance (range 18-146 ml/min/1.73 m2) determined by a standard method from five capillary blood samples (CI). The regression of CI on Clsc did not differ from the line of identity, the SD being 5.9 ml/min/1.73 m2. In advanced renal failure the one-sample method is very sensitive to inaccuracies in the distribution space estimate and, accordingly, this method should be used only when the clearance value is predicted higher than 30 ml/min/1.73 m2.