Blood Glucose (Bg) Concentrations and Cranial Ultrasound Sound (Us) Abnormalities in Low Birth Weight (Lbw) Infants

Abstract

serum enzymes in the human fetus may originate from mother, placenta or the fetus. We studied paired samples of umbilical cord artery (A) and venous (V) serum enzyme activities, namely, creatine phosphokinase (CPK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), amylase and alkaline phosphatase (Alk-P). The study group consisted of a total of 30 infants with a birth weight (mean±sD) of 304o±sol gm, and gestational age of 38.6±2.4 wks. The following is a comparison between venous and arterial serum levels of the remaining enzymes: CPK AST LDH AMYLASE Alk-P venous (U/L) i69'!"97 ini"1oo 3S"l3• 373!154 Arterial (U/ L) 311±115* 43±22* 313±124* 42±16 379±126 bV-A +/-<'> z/15(12lt 2/16(1llt6/20(23)ts;22(27lta;2o(29lt Paired t: *p< o.os, Wilcoxon signed rank test: fp<0.05 Serum CPK, LDH and amylase were higher in the serum of A than V and the direction o! changes were significantly upward from V to A. The negative V-A gradient of these enzymes in cord serum represents fetal contribution and/or placental uptake during each passage of feto-placental circulatory cycle. Intrapartum fetal and placental disorders are expected to produce more acute changes which may be instrumental for further understanding of this issue.