Abstract:
bjective. To determine the hematologic profile of preterm infants with regard to different diseases. Methods.
A prospective, cross-sectional, observational study, conducted in 5 hospitals in Ethiopia from July 2016 to May
2018. Preterm babies <7days of age were included and investigated with complete blood counts (CBC) and other
investigations, accordingly. Results. Out of 4919 preterms, 3852 (78.3%) were admitted to a newborn intensive
care unit, and of these, 68.3% had a CBC performed. The mean values of hemoglobin, white blood cell (WBC) and
platelet counts were 17.9mg/dL; 12685cells/mm3, and 159340cells/mm3, respectively. Early onset neonatal sepsis
(EONS) 1433 (37%), asphyxia 266 (6.9%), and respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) 1738 (45.3%) were common
reasons for admission. The WBC count was <5000cells/mm3 for 8.8%, 9.0%, and 11.1% of neonates with EONS,
asphyxia and RDS, respectively. The hemoglobin value was <7mg/dL for 0.6%, 1.7%, and 0.4% of preterm infants
with EONS, asphyxia, and RDS, respectively. The platelet count was <50000cells/mm3 for 16.8%, 17.7%, and 19.8%
of preterms admitted with a diagnosis of EONS, asphyxia, and RDS, respectively. Conclusion. WBC and platelet
counts were the most common to be associated with EONS, asphyxia, and RDS. Further study is recommended to
determine the effect of abnormal hematologic profile on the outcome of preterm babies.
Keywords
preterm, complete blood count, clinical diagnosis, low-resource countries
Received April 1, 2020. Received revised June 28, 2020. Accepted for publication July 16, 2020.
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