Comparison of absolute neutrophil count between premature and term infants
Abstract
Background Neutrophils are very important in the body defenseagainst bacterial infection. Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) could
be used for the recognition of early-onset bacterial sepsis in
neonates.
Objective The aim of this study was to compare the value of ANC
between premature and term infants, to assess the prevalence of
early-onset neutropenia in premature infants and its relationship
with prematurity, and to find out the correlation between gesta-
tional age and ANC.
Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted during February
to May 2003. Subjects were newborn infants with gestational age
of less than 37 weeks who were born in Adam Malik and Pirngadi
Hospitals, Medan. Newborn infants with severe asphyxia (5-minute
Apgar score of less than 4), fever, seizure, and maternal
hypertension were excluded. Complete blood count was done by
means of automatic cell counter (Micros (R) , Germany). Term healthy
infants were used as control subjects.
Results ANC differed significantly between both groups (p=0.0001).
The prevalence of early-onset neutropenia in premature infants
was 9% (95%CI 0.065;0.21). Prematurity was related with the
incidence of neutropenia with a prevalence ratio of 1.1. There
was a weak positive correlation between gestational age and
ANC with an r-value of 0.49 (p=0.0001).
Conclusions ANC in premature infants differs from that in term
infants. The prevalence of early-onset neutropenia in premature
infants was 9% (95%CI 0.065;0.21). Prematurity is related with the
incidence of early-onset neutropenia in newborn infants. There is
a correlation between gestational age and ANC
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Accepted 2016-10-02
Published 2016-10-10