Umbilical cord blood as a replacement source for admission complete blood count in premature infants

Objective: We hypothesize that a complete blood count (CBC) with manual differential from umbilical cord blood is equivalent to a CBC With manual differential obtained from the neonate on admission. Study Design: A CBC and manual differential was performed on 174 paired umbilical cord blood and admission blood samples from infants < 35 weeks gestation. Paired t-test and Pearson's correlation coefficient were the primary statistical tools used for data analysis. Result: Cord and admission blood white blood cell (WBC) count, hemoglobin and platelet count all significantly (P < 0.0001) correlated with paired neonatal samples (R = 0.82, 0.72, 0.76). Admission blood WBC count fell within the variation of WBC count values from currently accepted neonatal admission blood sources. Cord blood hemoglobin was not clinically different than admission hemoglobin (1.0 g dl(-1)). Cord blood platelet counts were not different from admission blood platelet counts (5800 cells per mu l, P = 0.23). The immature to total granulocyte ratio was not different between samples (P = 0.34). Conclusion: Umbilical cord blood can be used for admission CBC and differential in premature infants. Journal of Perinatology (2012) 32; 97-102; doi:10.1038/jp.2011.60; published online 12 May 2011