title: Prooxidant-antioxidant balance in perinatal asphyxia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the prooxidant-antioxidant balance (PAB) in neonatal asphyxia and compare it with values for PAB in healthy neonates.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a prospective observational study, serum PAB of umbilical cord blood of 30 neonates with asphyxia [pH < 7.2, low Apgar score, signs of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS)] as the case group and 35 healthy neonates (without an abnormal clinical event at birth and after the first week) as the control group were compared.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among the 35 neonates in the control group, the average level of serum PAB was 20.00 HK units, which was significantly lower than for the 30 neonates within the case group (40.46 HK units; p = 0.019). The blood pH in the case group was significantly lower than for control group (P < 0.001). In controls, HCO3 (-) and pCO2 were 18.6 mmol/L and 38.5 mmHg respectively, whilst in the case group these values were 15.5 mmol/L and 45.7 mmHg respectively (p < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Determination of PAB may be useful in the early diagnosis of perinatal asphyxia and is consistent with HCO3 (-), pCO2 and Apgar score.
authors.affiliation: Neonatal Research Center, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Hassan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Boskabadi
authors.forename: Abbas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Navaee Boroujeni
authors.forename: Hesam
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mostafavi-Toroghi
authors.forename: Golkoo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hosseini
authors.forename: Majid
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ghayour-Mobarhan
authors.forename: Dariush
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hamidi Alamdari
authors.forename: Mahtab
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Biranvandi
authors.forename: Hamidreza
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Saber
authors.forename: Gordon A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Ferns
mesh_terms: D001034:Apgar Score; D001238:Asphyxia Neonatorum / Q000097:blood*; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000097:blood; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D010313:Partial Pressure; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D002245:Carbon Dioxide