title: Absolute nucleated red blood cells counts do not predict the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We tested the hypothesis that infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) have higher absolute nucleated red blood cells (aNRBCs) counts at birth than controls as a proxy measurement of exposure to intrauterine hypoxia.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied 39 preterm infants with BPD and compared them to 39 pair-matched controls without BPD. Criteria for exclusion in both groups included factors that may influence the aNRBCs at birth.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In logistic regression, when pre-eclampsia, birthweight, gender, antenatal steroid therapy, 1-min Apgar scores, respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) (or surfactant use), intraventricular hemorrhage of grade 3 or more, nosocomial sepsis, patent ductus arteriosus, and aNRBC counts (or lymphocyte counts) were used as independent variables, and BPD as the dependent variable, only RDS (or its proxy measurement of surfactant use) and nosocomial sepsis remained included in the final analysis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  aNRBC counts and lymphocyte counts do not appear to be elevated in infants that develop BPD, as compared to pair-matched controls without BPD. We speculate that chronic intrauterine hypoxia does not appear to play a major role in the pathogenesis of BPD. In contrast, postnatal events such as RDS and nosocomial sepsis appear to play a determining role in the pathogenesis of BPD.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Neonatology , Lis Maternity Hospital, Tel Aviv Medical Center , Tel Aviv , Israel .|b Sackler Faculty of Medicine , Tel Aviv University , Tel Aviv , Israel .
authors.forename: Ronella
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Marom
authors.affiliation: b Sackler Faculty of Medicine , Tel Aviv University , Tel Aviv , Israel .|c Department of Neonatology , Shaare Zedek Medical Center , Jerusalem , Israel .
authors.forename: Francis B
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: Mimouni
authors.affiliation: b Sackler Faculty of Medicine , Tel Aviv University , Tel Aviv , Israel .|d Department of Pediatrics , and.
authors.forename: Ronit
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lubetzky
authors.affiliation: b Sackler Faculty of Medicine , Tel Aviv University , Tel Aviv , Israel .|e Department of Hematology , Tel Aviv Medical Center , Tel Aviv , Israel.
authors.forename: Varda
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Deutsch
authors.affiliation: a Department of Neonatology , Lis Maternity Hospital, Tel Aviv Medical Center , Tel Aviv , Israel .|b Sackler Faculty of Medicine , Tel Aviv University , Tel Aviv , Israel .
authors.forename: Dror
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mandel
mesh_terms: D001997:Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia / Q000097:blood*; D004900:Erythroblasts; D004906:Erythrocyte Count; D006801:Humans; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000097:blood; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D012189:Retrospective Studies
keywords: Bronchopulmonary dysplasia; fetal hypoxia; nucleated red blood cells; preterm infants