Abstract:

AIM: Anemia may cause negative clinical results to preterm newborns. But there are no enough studies to evaluate this problem. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the clinical results of very low birth weight (VLBW: <1500 g) preterm newborns with anemia. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In our study, preterm infants with <1500 g in our unit were included and the data were recorded retrospectively. Preterms who had cord hemoglobin (Hb) of <13 g/dL were enrolled into anemia group and preterms who had Hb of ≥13 g/dL were enrolled into the control group. Patients with and without anemia were compared in terms of demographic and clinical characteristics. RESULTS: According to umbilical cord Hb level, 22 preterm infants were included in the anemia group and 162 preterm infants were included in the group without anemia. A total of 184 infants were included in the study. In our results, the incidence of anemia at birth in VLBW infants were 11.95% (22/184). The first erythrocyte transfusion time (12.91±5.22 days) in the anemia group was significantly shorter than the group without anemia (17.68±9.34 days) (p=0.032). Severe intracranial hemorrhage (13.63%) and necrotizing enterocolitis (18.18%) among anemia group were found to be significantly higher than without anemia group (4.32%, 2.46%, respectively) (p=0.045, p=0.033, respectively). CONCLUSION: It should not be forgotten that some morbidities will increase if preterm infants, who are especially at risk for anemia at birth.

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