Publication:

Cord blood nucleated red blood cell count as a predictor of long term sequelae in cases of perinatal asphyxia: a one-year follow-up study

Background Nucleated red blood cells (NRBCs) can be easily found in cord blood and its >20/100 WBCs has been distinguished as a marker of perinatal asphyxia at birth. Authors conducted this study to find out if there exists a relation between NRBCs at birth and its effects on long term neurological outcome in patients of perinatal asphyxia.

Methods This was a prospective longitudinal study conducted in the Department of Pediatrics in collaboration with Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, G.S.V.M. Medical College, Kanpur from December 2014 to September 2016.

Results On assessing the long term neurodevelopmental outcome in newborns with HIE at birth, Authors found that cord blood NRBCs had no direct influence on the final neurodevelopmental outcome at 1 year of life as did HIE staging.

Conclusions Authors propose that cord blood NRBC counts of > 20/100 WBCs is a good predictor of asphyxia at birth but is definitely not an indicator of forth coming developmental delay.