# Metabolomic Prediction of Pneumonia Severity

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · 2021 · $233,250

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
 Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is one of the most prevalent infections in
children resulting in 1.8 million healthcare visits annually. Validated tools to predict severe
clinical outcomes in children with CAP do not exist. The addition of biomarkers to clinical
prediction rules may improve severity prediction, however conventional biomarkers (e.g.
procalcitonin) have limited ability to predict severity in children. We propose identifying novel
biomarkers for pediatric CAP using metabolomics, the study of small molecules. We
hypothesize that metabolites may be better predictors of illness severity as they directly
represent the complex physiological interaction between the environment (e.g. infection) and the
host in a single sample. Preliminary data of urine samples assayed by Nuclear Magnetic
Resonance (NMR) spectrometry, a more specific analytical platform for metabolomics, suggests
amino acids, carnitine and bile acid molecules are important predictors of CAP severity. As a
complimentary approach we will further investigate these classes of metabolites and specific
lipid molecules (i.e. oxylipins) in blood samples using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry
(LC-MS), a more sensitive analytical platform. Information from urine and blood specimens will
generate a comprehensive set of prognostic metabolomic biomarkers as the strengths of both
analytical platforms are being leveraged for this proposal. The targeted approach we propose in
addition to the use of two separate pediatric CAP cohorts, will result in a clinical and
metabolomic biomarker prediction rule to predict severity in children presenting to the
emergency department with CAP.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10216792
- **Project number:** 1R21AI154239-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER
- **Principal Investigator:** Lilliam Ambroggio
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $233,250
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-04-21 → 2023-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10216792

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10216792, Metabolomic Prediction of Pneumonia Severity (1R21AI154239-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10216792. Licensed CC0.

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