[Biochemical indicators of malnutrition in children with intrauterine growth retardation].

The evolution of plasma and urine amino acids in "small for dates" newborns from the first hours of life to 30 days has been studied. The results obtained point out the occurrence of malnutrition in these newborns who have lower levels of plasma albumin than controls, high indexes of malnutrition from plasma aminograms and lower urinary excretion of histidine and its N-methyl derivatives. All indexes are normalized at 7 days of life with the used diet.