Torre et al. (A-30) conducted a study to determine serum levels of nitrite in pediatric patients with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection. Subjects included 10 healthy control children

(six boys and four girls) with a mean age of 9.7 years and a standard deviation of 3.3. The remainder of the subjects were 21 children born to HIV-1-infected mothers. Of these, seven (three boys and four girls) were affected by AIDS. They had a mean age of 6 years with a standard deviation of 2.8. The remaining 14 children (seven boys and seven girls) became seronegative for HIV-1 during the first year of life. Their mean age was 3.3 years with a standard deviation of 2.3 years.

Among the data collected were the following serum levels of nitrite ( mol/L):

Controls Seronegativized Children HIV-1-Positive Patients 0.301 0.335 0.503 0.167 0.986 0.268 0.201 0.846 0.335 0.234 1.006 0.946 0.268 2.234 0.846 0.268 1.006 0.268 0.201 0.803 0.268 0.234 0.301 0.268 0.936 0.301 0.268 0.134 0.335 0.167 0.234 Source: Dr. Donato Torre. Used with permission.