[Excretion of N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase in the urine of children with type I juvenile diabetes mellitus and of patients treated with the aminoglycoside amikacin].

N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase activity, alpha 1-microglobulin, albumin, and creatinine were determined in urine specimens of healthy children, age 4 months up to 15 years, and of children with type I diabetes and of juvenile patients receiving amikacin, an aminoglycoside antibiotic, during severe systemic infections. All resulting values were expressed per g of creatinine. beta-Glucosaminidase activity was determined colorimetrically using 3-cresolsulfonphthaleinyl-N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminide as a substrate. Creatinine was determined by a modified Jaffé reaction. alpha 1-microglobulin and albumin were measured by immunodiffusion. In normal urine beta-glucosaminidase activity showed a log-normal distribution with an upper limit 97.5 percentile of 3.61 U/g creatinine. In patients receiving amikacin for up to 3 weeks beta-glucosaminidase and alpha 1-microglobulin significantly rose to very high values (6-10 times) during the course of the treatment. Urinary albumin values was only doubled. All values returned to normal, days or occasionally weeks after discontinuation of the therapy. 3 groups of diabetic children could be distinguished using urinary beta-glucosaminidase as a discriminator a) children with repeatedly normal activities, b) children with intermittently elevated activities and c) children with repeatedly elevated activities. While alpha 1-microglobulin concentrations followed the same pattern, the excretion of albumin did not.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)