Role of fibronectin in diagnosing bacterial infection in infancy
J. M. Koenig, L. E. Patterson, M. A. Rench and M. S. Edwards
Department of Pediatrics, Myers-Black Section of Infectious Diseases, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030.
Plasma fibronectin levels and complete blood cell counts were assessed
prospectively among 100 infants less than 3 months of age with the
provisional diagnosis of "possible sepsis". Seven of the ten infants with
culture-proved bacteremia, meningitis, or urinary tract infection had low
plasma fibronectin levels as did 12 (13%) of 90 infants with superficial or
no documented bacterial infection. The positive predictive value of a low
plasma fibronectin level in conjunction with leukocytosis and elevated band
ratio for discriminating serious bacterial infection was 71%. Normal white
blood cell counts or fibronectin level alone or in combination predicted
the absence of serious bacterial infection with an accuracy of at least
94%. Plasma fibronectin determination provides a useful adjunct to the
complete blood cell count for the rapid evaluation of extent of illness in
young infants with possible sepsis.
