Neonatal Reticulocytes among Preterminfants of Small for Gestational Age

Dr. Ajith Krishnaa Kalirajan Balakrishnan, Dr. Kartik R., Dr. Malavika J.

Abstract: Aim: To assess the relationships between SGA and perinatal variables including blood counts during the early postnatal period. Method: This is a prospective cross sectional study conducted over 9 months in all preterm neonates born before 37 completed weeks of gestation. Results: The correlation between Antenatal steroids and SGA/AGA was statistically significant in our study (p=0.04). The mean APGAR 5 score in AGA score was 8.250 ?.6387 and in SGA score was 8.400 ? 0.7368. The mean RBC in AGA score was 4767.50 ? 677.76 and in SGA group was 4508.00 ? 731.36. The mean reticulocyte count in AGA was 2.81% ? 1.50 and in SGA group was 4.58% ? 2.30%. The mean WBC count in AGA was 13442.50 ? 4262.144 and in SGA group was 11504.00 ? 6123.645. The mean neutrocytes in AGA group was 57.600 ? 6.6917 and in SGA group was 53.600 ? 12.1761.1 patient (6.7%) in the SGA group had platelet count <1.5 lakhs, 20 patients in AGA group and 14 patients (93.3%) in SGA group had platelet count >1.5 lakhs. Conclusion: These results suggest that preterm infants with SGA adapted more rapidly to the postnatal environment than did non - SGA preterm infants. Moreover, a lower reticulocyte count.

Keywords: SGA, perinatal, blood counts, preterm neonates, reticulocyte count