title: Coproporphyrin in urine of newborns with meconium aspiration syndrome.
abstract: We evaluated coproporphyrin in the first urine passed by newborn infants with and without meconium aspiration, by spectrophotometric analysis and thin-layer and "high-performance" liquid chromatography. Urines of newborn infants without meconium aspiration contained only very small quantities of coproporphyrin, detected, after partial purification, by "high-performance" liquid chromatography. Urines of newborn infants with meconium aspiration contained large quantities of coproporphyrin, identified by all three techniques. Urinary coproporphyrin as measured spectrophotometrically correlates well with the "urinary meconium index," and the method is simple, rapid, and reliable, even for samples containing hemoglobin.
mesh_terms: D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D002855:Chromatography, Thin Layer; D003306:Coproporphyrins / Q000652:urine*; D006454:Hemoglobins; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008470:Meconium; D011015:Pneumonia, Aspiration / Q000652:urine*; D011166:Porphyrins / Q000652:urine*; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet
chemical_list: D003306:Coproporphyrins; D006454:Hemoglobins; D011166:Porphyrins