Iron deficiency anemia in late-preterm infants.

Iron deficiency anemia is a common problem in newborn infants. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends iron prophylaxis at 4 months of age for term infants. There is no specific recommendation for iron prophylaxis in late-preterm infants. We aimed to establish the optimum time for iron prophylaxis in late-preterm infants. Thirty-eight late-preterm (Group 1) and 38 term (Group 2) infants born on the same day were enrolled in the study. Hemoglobin, ferritin and reticulocyte values at birth, 2nd month and 4th month were assessed. The cord ferritin, hemoglobin and reticulocyte levels did not differ significantly between groups. However, at the 2nd month, median ferritin and hemoglobin values were lower in late-preterm infants than term infants (145 mg/dl vs. 195 mg/dl, p=0.001 and 10.1 g/dl vs. 11.6 g/dl, p<0.001, respectively). Median ferritin levels were lower at the 4th month in latepreterm infants than term infants, but this difference was not significant after exclusion of three late- preterm infants who required iron therapy (49 mg/dl vs. 62 mg/dl, p=0.2). There was a tendency of higher frequency of anemia in late-preterm infants at 4 months (42.8% vs. 21.1%), but this was statistically insignificant (p=0.07). At the 2nd month of age, the median ferritin and hemoglobin levels of late-preterm infants were lower than those of term infants. Further studies with larger sample sizes are required to determine the need for earlier supplementation of iron in late-preterm infants.

Quantitative ultrasound and biochemical parameters for the assessment of osteopenia in preterm infants.

OBJECTIVE: Our study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of quantitative ultrasound (QUS) evaluation in osteopenia of prematurity and to compare the results to biochemical parameters. METHODS: QUS assessment of bone was performed at the end of the first postnatal week and at term-corrected age (CA) in premature infants (N = 30) and within the first week in full-term infants (N = 25). On the same day of measurement of QUS, the serum calcium, phosphorus (inorganic), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity were measured in the preterm infants. RESULTS: The median of tibia z score at term-CA in premature infants was significantly lower compared to that of first postnatal week (-1 and 0.4, respectively; p < 0.0001) and it was also lower than that of term-matched controls (0.0; p = 0.001). Preterm infants at term-CA had lower weights and lengths in comparison to term infants. The median ALP value was 585 IU/L at the first postnatal week and 703 IU/L at term-CA in preterm infants (p = 0.003). The median tibia z score of infants with ALP >or=900 IU/L was significantly lower than that of the infants with ALP <900 IU/L (-1.4 vs. 0.1; p = 0.001). An inverse correlation was found between ALP levels and tibia z score at term-CA in preterm infants (rho = -0.61, p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Bone density of preterm infants at term-CA was lower than that at first postnatal week. Serum ALP levels increased during the first postnatal weeks. The tibia z scores were correlated to serum ALP levels. QUS is a good screening tool for the detection of osteopenia.

The effect of the mode of delivery on neonatal thyroid function.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to investigate the effect of the mode of delivery and the type of anesthesia on postnatal thyroxine (T4), free T4 (f-T4) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) in a large number of healthy full-term neonates. METHODS: Serum samples for T4, TSH and f-T4 were drawn from neonates at the time of discharge (postnatal days 1-7) in a pilot thyroid-screening program. Six hundred and thirty-eight neonates were grouped as: vaginal delivery (VD; 332), elective cesarean section (elective C/S; 252) and emergency cesarean section (emergency C/S; 54). The elective C/S group was subdivided into local and general anesthesia groups to investigate the influence of the type of anesthesia used on thyroid function. RESULTS: Mean+/-SD serum T4, TSH and f-T4 levels tended to be higher in the VD group compared to the elective C/S group at almost all time points. However the differences did not reach statistical significance, except for the T4 levels at postnatal day 3 in the VD group, which was higher (195.6+/-37.3 nmol/L) compared to the elective C/S group (160.9+/-34.8 nmol/L) (p < 0.001). The only difference in the anesthesia groups was the slightly higher f-T4 levels from postnatal day 4 in the local anesthesia group compared to the general anesthesia group. CONCLUSIONS: The mode of delivery or type of anesthesia does not have considerable influence on postnatal thyroid functions in the neonates, although minor differences exist. Therefore similar cut-off values can be used for thyroid screening of term newborns regardless of the mode of delivery or type of anesthesia used.