FEATURES OF THE AMINO ACID SPECTRUM OF BLOOD IN PREMATURE INFANTS BORN SMALL FOR GESTATIONAL AGE, ACCORDING TO THE RESULTS OF EXTENDED NEONATAL SCREENING

The main hypothesis of this study was the assumption about the influence of weight and height indicators at birth in extremely premature infants on the amino acid spectrum in the neonatal period. The aim of the research – to study the characteristics of the amino acid spectrum in premature infants born small and low birth weight for gestational age, during neonatal screening. Material and methods. The observation group consisted of 19 premature infants with a gestational age of 24-31 weeks, born small and/or low birth weight for gestational age, the comparison group – 74 examined, corresponding to the gestational age. Blood samples were collected at the age of 144-168 hours of life. Amino acid concentrations were determined using tandem mass spectrometry. Statistical analysis of the parameters was performed using the nonparametric Mann-Whitney U-test and correlation analysis. Results. In the group of premature infants born small and low for gestational age, lower levels of arginine (17,5 [6,1; 21,4] μmol/l), methionine (22,8 [16,6; 26,1] μmol/l, p = 0,011), phenylalanine (49,9 [33,5; 52,5] μmol/l, p = 0,003), tyrosine (45,5 [34,6; 62,5] μmol/l, p < 0,001) were observed. An inverse relationship was found between the SD value of birth weight and the concentration of ornithine (rs = -0,46, p = 0,047), arginine-succinic acid (rs = -0,60, p < 0,001) and citrulline (rs = -0,42, p = 0,05). Conclusion. The amino acid profile of extremely premature infants is determined by the indicators of physical development at birth. The concentration of ornithine, arginine-succinic acid and citrulline in extremely premature infants born small and/or low for gestational age depends on the severity of the birth weight deficit.