Complete Blood Counts from Umbilical Cords of Healthy Term Newborns by Two Automated Cytometers

Abstract

Complete blood counts (CBC) of umbilical cord blood from 123 healthy term newborns were simultaneously performed with two different cytometers using laser as a light source. Medians (95% range) were: WBC 14.2 (7.8–24.3) × 10⁹/l, platelets 265 (174–363) × 10⁹/l, Hb 15.7 (12.5–18.2) g/dl, RBC 4.6 (3.9–5.5) × 10¹²/l, MCV 106 (95–113) fl, PCV 0.49 (0.40–0.56), and MCH 33.8 (30.3–36.4) pg. Reticulocytes were 149 (95–212) × 10⁹/l or 3.3 (2.0–4.7)%; erythroblasts 5 (0–24) per 100 WBC or 0.53 (0.00–3.20) × 10⁹/l. The counters agreed well except for MCHC. WBC counts showed the smallest difference irrespective of erythroblast number; platelets showed the largest difference. The lower limit for normal Hb should be fixed at 12.5 g/dl for the adequate diagnosis of anaemia from cord blood of term newborns.

Hematologic and Immunophenotypic Characterization of Human Umbilical Cord Blood

“…Although reference values for umbilical cord complete blood counts are available [15], they are mainly obtained with manual measurements. Few reports have been published on the analysis of neonatal blood with automated cytometers [7]. The results obtained in the present work were equivalent to those described by Walka et al [7]and represent a contribution to the establishment of reference ranges in cord blood.…”

“…Due to the scarcity of reports on umbilical cord reference values for complete blood counts performed with automated cytometers [7], and to controversial results obtained for the expression of some surface molecules on umbilical cord CD34+ cells, this work aimed at the determination of hematological parameters and the analysis of surface molecules in cord blood monocytes, lymphocytes and in CD34+ cells by two-color flow cytometry. Adhesion molecules representing the integrins (CD11c and CD49e), selectins (CD62L) and the immunoglobulin superfamily (CD31) were analyzed.…”

Complete Blood Cell Counts in Capillary and Venous Blood of Healthy Term Newborns

“…However, other authors have documented Plt counts comparable to ours [8]. In a study done in Africa, the Hb, Hct values, and WBC counts of African babies were found to be significantly lower than those of African-American infants [9].…”

The erythrocyte indices of neonates, defined using data from over 12 000 patients in a multihospital health care system

“…Mukiibi et al reported that 366 Malawian neonates had an MCV of 113±9 fl, an MCH of 32±6 pg and an MCHC of 34±3 g dl À1 , and that 600 Zimbabwean neonates had an MCV of 108 ± 9 fl, an MCH of 32±3 pg and an MCHC of 33±3 g dl À1 , 9 but these were not listed according to gestational age. Walka et al 10 reported that 123 term neonates in Berlin had an average MCV of 106 fl (range 95 to 113) and an average MCH of 34 pg (range 30 to 36) and that two varieties of automated cytometers gave similar results.…”

“…We found it curious that the MCHC of our patients was about 1 g dl À1 higher than that reported in African 17,9 neonates, and the MCH of our patients was about 4 pg higher. 10 Whether these differences reflect greater iron sufficiency among mothers in the western United States, or is due to a higher carrier state for thalassemia among the African neonates or is due to another explanation is unclear. A high MCHC can be an indication that the erythrocytes are spherical, or have a shape intermediate between a sphere and a biconcave disk.…”