Perinatal hematological profile of newborn infants with candida antenatal infections

We serially studied hematological profiles of 8 newborns with proven antenatal candida chorioamnionitis and funisitis. Candida albicans was cultured from various sources in the infants; blood and CSF cultures were all negative. Seven of the 8 were premature; 5 were sick. We statistically compared hematological data of the 'well' and 'sick' babies. The latter showed neutrophilia (mean 52,381 vs. 11,326/microliters, p less than 0.01) accompanied by significant elevation of nonsegmented granulocytes (NSG) and a NSG/neutrophil ratio greater than 0.3. Significant monocytosis (mean 7,836 vs. 2,869/microliters, p less than 0.01) and eosinophilia (mean 4,723 vs. 782/microliters, p less than 0.05) were also noted. Remarkable toxic granulations, vacuolization, and Döhle bodies were found in the neutrophils of the 'sick' newborns. Hematological profiles correlated with the infants' clinical condition.