Plasma Creatinine, Age and Body Surface Area in Nigerian Children and Adolescents

Abstract

In a bid to establish reference values for plasma creatinine in children and adolescents using age, and body surface area (BSA), 462 apparently healthy Nigerian children/adolescents aged one day to 15 years were studied. They were recruited from well baby clinics, as well as primary and secondary schools. Plasma obtained from venous blood was analyzed for its creatinine in batches, employing the kinetic Jaffe method. There was a positive correlation between age and plasma creatinine (r = 0.27, p<0.001) and between BSA and plasma creatinine (r = 0.28, p<0.001). No gender difference was demonstrable. A multiple regression equation was obtained which relates age, BSA and plasma creatinine as follows: y = 30.97 + 99x1 + 0.023x2, where y = plasma creatinine in mol/L, x1 = BSA in M2, and x2 = the age in months. Two regression curves related plasma creatinine to age and to BSA. The values obtained should be useful for patient care because each child has his/her own predicted reference value according to the surface area and age; they should also serve as baseline reference values for healthy Nigerian children and adolescents.

Nigerian Journal of Paediatrics 2001; 28:119.pp. 119-122