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. 2011 May;24(5):673-9.
doi: 10.3109/14767058.2010.520048. Epub 2010 Oct 12.

Cord blood erythropoietin and interleukin-6 for prediction of intraventricular hemorrhage in the preterm neonate

Vineet Bhandari  1 , Catalin S Buhimschi, Christina S Han, Sarah Y Lee, Christian M Pettker, Katherine H Campbell, Antonette T Dulay, Emily A Oliver, Erika F Werner, Irina A Buhimschi
Affiliations

Cord blood erythropoietin and interleukin-6 for prediction of intraventricular hemorrhage in the preterm neonate

Vineet Bhandari et al. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med. 2011 May.

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate cord blood erythropoietin (EPO) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels to predict preterm infants at risk of developing intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH).

Methods: Levels of umbilical cord EPO, acid-base status and IL-6 were analyzed in 116 consecutive, preterm newborns (GA at delivery: 29 [23-34 ] weeks) born to mothers who had a clinically indicated amniocentesis to rule out infection. Early-onset neonatal sepsis (EONS) was diagnosed using symptoms, hematological criteria and blood cultures.

Results: IVH was diagnosed by cranial ultrasounds. The prevalence of IVH in our population was 25% (29/116). There was a direct relationship between cord blood EPO and cord blood IL-6 concentration (r = 0.225, p = 0.014), independent of GA at birth. Elevated cord blood EPO levels (r = 0.182, p = 0.016) and GA at birth (r = -0.236, p = 0.004) remained significant independent factors associated with the risk of IVH, when evaluated with stepwise logistic regression analyses. Cord blood IL-6, pH, and EONS were not associated with IVH. These relationships remained following correction for GA at birth (p = 0.027).

Conclusions: Our results suggest that elevation in cord blood EPO may predict newborns at risk for IVH, independent of fetal inflammatory status. Further studies are warranted to confirm this association.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Relationship between the umbilical cord blood interleukin-6 (IL-6) and erythropoietin (EPO) levels. Distribution of the cord blood IL-6 (y-axis) in relationship to the EPO on the x-axis. Data presented in logarithmic format. (pg, picograms; mIU, milli international units; ml, milliliters). The regression line (solid red) and 95% confidence (solid black lines) and prediction (dotted black lines) intervals are also shown (n = 116).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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