Cord Blood Total WBC Count and Neutrophil Count Changes in Newborn of Preeclamptic Mother

Introduction: Preeclampsia is a hypertensive disorder during pregnancy which may severely impact the health of mothers and their newborns. The newborn of preeclamptic mother should be carefully monitored and managed for the purpose of reducing perinatal mortality and morbidity. Aim of the Study: The aim of this study was to evaluate the changes in cord blood total count of WBC and absolute neutrophil count in newborn of preeclamptic mother. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Physiology, Dhaka Medical College, Dhaka, Bangladesh from January 2017 to December 2017. Total 60 newborns were included in this study. The subjects were divided into 2 groups. Group A (Study group): Thirty (30) newborns of preeclamptic mother and Group B (Control group): Thirty (30) newborns of healthy pregnant mother. The subjects were selected from Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Dhaka on the basis of exclusion and inclusion criteria. Five (5) ml. of cord blood from each newborn was collected in EDTA tube after delivery and haematological test for total WBC count and absolute neutrophil count was done. These parameters were estimated in the Department of Hematology, Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Dhaka. Data were collected in pre-designed structured questionnaire form by the researcher herself. For statistical analysis Unpaired Student’s “t” test, Chi Square test and Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r) test were performed as applicable using SPSS for windows version 16.0. p value <0.05 was accepted as level of significance. Results: In this study, the mean (±SD) maternal systolic blood pressure of the study group A and control group B were 173.00 ± 19.73 and 114.83 ± 11.72 mm Hg respectively. In this study, the mean (±SD) maternal systolic blood pressure was significantly (p<0.001) higher in group A in compared to group B. The mean (±SD) maternal diastolic blood pressure of the study group A and control group B were 108.33 ± 9.52 and 73.33 ± 9.07 mm Hg respectively. In this study, the mean (±SD) maternal diastolic pressure was significantly (p<0.001) higher in group A in comparison to that of group B. The mean (± SD) total count of WBC was 9.62 ± 1.86 × 103/µl and 17.38 ± 3.31 × 103/µl in group A and B respectively. In this study, the mean (±SD) total count of WBC was lower in group A in comparison to that of group B which was statistically significant (p<0.001). In this study, mean (±SD) Absolute Neutrophil Count (ANC) was 5.76±2.01 ×103/µl and 10.45±1.90 ×103/µl in group A and B respectively. In this study, the mean (±SD) absolute neutrophil count was lower in group A in comparison to that of group B which was statistically significant (p<0.001). Maternal systolic blood pressure showed negative correlation (- 0.953) with total count of WBC in newborn of preeclamptic mother, which was statistically significant (p<0.001). Maternal diastolic blood pressure showed negative correlation (-0.957) with total WBC count in newborn of preeclamptic mother, which was statistically significant (p<0.001). Maternal systolic blood pressure showed negative correlation (- 0.951) with absolute neutrophil count in newborn of preeclamptic mother, which was statistically significant (p<0.001). Maternal diastolic blood pressure showed negative correlation (-0.953) with absolute neutrophil count in newborn of preeclamptic mother, which was statistically significant (p<0.001). Conclusion: The total WBC count and absolute neutrophil count in the cord blood of the newborn of preeclamptic mother were lower than those of healthy pregnant mother, but they were within the normal range, it can be inferred after studying the study's findings. These changes were significantly related to severity of maternal blood pressure.