Prooxidant-antioxidant balance in umbilical cord blood of infants with meconium stained of amniotic fluid.

Objective. Using a novel assay termed prooxidant-antioxidant balance (PAB) assay to determine prooxidant-antioxidant balance in umbilical cord blood of infants with meconium stained of amniotic fluid (MSAF). Passage of meconium in amniotic fluid is associated with increase of neonatal mortality and morbidity. This complication occurs in about 15% of infants and is more widespread in postterm neonates. About 1.5 percent of neonates with MSAF develop meconium aspiration syndrome. Method. Sera of 29 umbilical cord blood of infants with MSAF and 32 healthy infants (HI) were collected. Both groups had nonsmoker and non-alcoholic mothers with no diseases. The PAB was measured. Result. There was a significant increase of PAB value (32.8 ± 15.9 HK) in umbilical cord blood of infants with MSAF in comparison to HI (24.5 ± 12.6 HK) (P < 0.05). There was no significant correlation between PAB value and age of mothers. Conclusion. The increased PAB value in infants with MSAF showed that these infants are exposed to oxidative stress. Further research with larger population is needed to demonstrate the oxidative stress in infants with MSAF.