title: Serum KL-6 level in newborns with meconium aspiration syndrome.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  It has been reported that serum KL-6 increases in babies with progressing chronic lung disease (CLD). However, there have been few reports assessing KL-6 in meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS). KL-6 was measured in neonates with respiratory diseases including MAS.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-eight neonates with respiratory disease were enrolled in the study. These patients were classified into three groups, 14 patients with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), 14 with MAS, and 10 with transient tachypnea of the newborn (TTN). The control group consisted of 12 healthy neonates. KL-6 levels were measured 1 day (median) after the birth. In the RDS group, measurement was repeated just prior to 36 weeks' postmenstrual age.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The levels of KL-6 were 116 +/- 40 U/mL in the RDS, 281 +/- 138 U/mL in the MAS, and 106 +/- 41 U/mL in the TTN groups. KL-6 levels were significantly higher in the MAS group than in the control group (134 +/- 71 U/mL; P < 0.01). In addition, the levels were significantly higher in those with severe MAS than those with mild MAS (P < 0.05). In patients with RDS, KL-6 increased in patients who developed CLD (P < 0.05), while KL-6 levels did not change in those who did not develop CLD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data confirm the high level of KL-6 in CLD, and suggest that KL-6 is increased in MAS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Toyonaka Municipal Hospital, Toyonaka City, Japan. kurotobi@ped.med.osaka-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Shunji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kurotobi
authors.forename: Shu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Maekawa
authors.forename: Tatsuyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hara
authors.forename: Keiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hamana
authors.forename: Nahoko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Inada
authors.forename: Nobuhiro
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kawakami
authors.forename: Atsuko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Honda
authors.forename: Taro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsuoka
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fujita
authors.forename: Toshisaburo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nagai
mesh_terms: D000941:Antigens / Q000097:blood*; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D005260:Female; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008471:Meconium Aspiration Syndrome / Q000097:blood*; D018396:Mucin-1; D009077:Mucins; D012127:Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D000941:Antigens; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D006023:Glycoproteins; C060192:MUC1 protein, human; D018396:Mucin-1; D009077:Mucins