Serum Endocan, Neuron-Specific Enolase and Ischemia-Modified Albumin Levels in Newborns with Partial Blood Exchange Transfusion

Background: Hyperviscosity of blood secondary to polycythemia results in increased resistance to blood flow and decrease in delivery of oxygen. Objective: To evaluate whether serum endocan, NSE and IMA levels can be compared in terms of endothelial injury/dysfunction and neuronal damage in term neonates with polycythemia who underwent PET. Methods: 38 symptomatic polycythemic newborns having PET and 38 healthy newborns were included in the study. Blood samples for endocan, NSE and IMA were taken at only postnatal 24 hours of age in the control group and in polycytemia group just before PET, at 24 and 72 hours after PET. Results: The polycythemia group had higher serum endocan(1073,4 +/- 644,8 vs. 378,8 +/- 95,9ng/ml; p<0.05), IMA(1,32 +/- 0,34 vs. 0,601 +/- 0,095absorbance unit; p<0.05) and NSE(44,7 +/- 4,3 vs. 26,91 +/- 7,12 mu g/l; p<0.05) levels than control group before the PET procedure. At 24 hours after PET, IMA(0,656 +/- 0,07 vs. 0,601 +/- 0,095absorbance unit; p<0.05) and endocan( 510,9 +/- 228,6 vs. 378,8 +/- 95,9ng/ml; p<0.05) levels were closer to the control group, being still statistically significant higher. NSE levels decreased to control group levels having no difference between the PET and control groups at 24 hours after PET (28,98 +/- 6,5 vs. 26,91 +/- 7,12 mu g/l; p>0.05). At 72 hours after PET the polycythemia and control groups did not differ statistically for IMA, endocan and NSE levels (p>0.05). Conclusion: Serum endocan and IMA levels can be used as a biomarker for endothelial damage/dysfunction and tissue hypoxia in infants with symptomatic polycytemia.

Automated summary

The study found that symptomatic polycythemic newborns had higher serum levels of endocan, IMA, and NSE before the PET procedure, but these levels gradually approached those of the control group at 24 hours after PET, with no statistical difference between the two groups at 72 hours after PET.