title: Are placental chorionic capillary nucleated red blood cell counts useful compared to umbilical cord blood tests?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare measurement of fetal nucleated red blood cell (NRBC) counts in paired histologic samples of the placenta and umbilical cord bloods.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-five randomly selected pregnancies had two determinations of the NRBC count. A sample of umbilical venous blood had a NRBC count measured and sections of the placenta were examined for their villous capillary NRBC counts.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Umbilical venous blood had NRBC/100 white blood cell counts ranging from 0 to 67. Paired evaluation of placental tissue had NRBC counts of 0-5 with 60% being zero compared to 8% zero counts in cord blood. There was no correlation between the paired counts (R(2) = 0.04).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Umbilical cord blood provides different information on fetal NRBC count than does histologic study of the placenta.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of South Florida College of Medicine, Tampa, FL 33606, USA. jmccarth@hsc.usf.edu
authors.forename: Joan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: McCarthy
authors.forename: Enid
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gilbert-Barness
authors.forename: John C M
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Tsibris
authors.forename: William N
authors.initials: WN
authors.lastname: Spellacy
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002196:Capillaries; D004906:Erythrocyte Count / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000166:cytology*; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D010920:Placenta / Q000098:blood supply*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis / Q000379:methods*; D014471:Umbilical Veins