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Umbilical artery blood S100β protein: a tool for the early identification of neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy

European Journal of Pediatrics volume 168, pages 71–77 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

Neuroprotective interventions in neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) require early indicators of brain damage to initiate therapy. In order to find a reliable, rapid, and simple method to identify infants at risk for this disorder, 40 infants with asphyxia were selected as the observation group (HIE group) and 25 normal-term infants as the control group. S100β protein concentration and gas analysis of the umbilical cord artery blood of all infants were determined. We found that the S100β protein levels of the HIE group (1.98 µg/L) were higher than those of the control group (1.05 µg/L, p<0.05), and there were significant differences between the mild HIE group (1.72 µg/L) and the moderate or severe HIE groups (3.61 µg/L, p<0.05). An S100β protein concentration cutoff level of 2.02 µg/L had a sensitivity of 86.7% and a specificity of 88.0% for predicting the development of moderate or severe HIE. The blood gas parameters of umbilical artery blood, such as pH, carbon dioxide tension, and base excess, were significantly different in the HIE group compared to the control group (all p<0.001), but there were no differences between the mild HIE group and the moderate or severe HIE groups. On the basis of clinical manifestations of asphyxiated neonates, detecting the S100β protein levels in the umbilical artery blood may be of important value in the early diagnosis and grading of HIE.

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Abbreviations

HIE:

Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Xiang-Ping Xu for her assistance.

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Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, 250012, China

    Jing Qian, Dong Zhou & Yu-Wei Wang

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  1. Jing Qian
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  2. Dong Zhou
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  3. Yu-Wei Wang
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Correspondence to Yu-Wei Wang.

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Qian, J., Zhou, D. & Wang, YW. Umbilical artery blood S100β protein: a tool for the early identification of neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. Eur J Pediatr 168, 71–77 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-008-0711-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-008-0711-4

Keywords

  • Perinatal asphyxia
  • S100β protein
  • Newborn
  • Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy