الملخص
The present study included 60 patients with PEM [3-30 months of age] and 20 age matched normal controls. According to McLaren classification of PEM, the nutritional index [NI] of each subject was calculated and patients were divided into 3 equal groups with mild, moderate and severe PEM. Their plasma fibronectin [FN] levels were measured by single radial immunodiffusion and their plasma albumin concentrations were estimated by a colorimetric method. PEM proved to have highly significant decreasing effects on both FN and albumin concentrations in plasma. The mean values of plasma FN and albumin levels in each group differed significantly from the corresponding nones in the other groups with one exception, namely, the difference between the mean value of plasma albumin in the group of mild PEM and that in the group of moderate disease. Both plasma FN and plasma albumin levels correlated well with the NI. But the correlation coefficient of FN [r= + 0.68] was higher than that of albumin [r= + 0.52] indicting that plasma fibroncetin concentration is more accurate than plasma albumin level in assessing the nutritional status of the infants and children