An Indian perspective for umbilical cord blood haematological parameters reference interval

The Haematological Reference Intervals (RIs) are prone to vary on the basis of various factors such as altitude, age, sex, socioeconomic status, etc. These values play a major role in laboratory data interpretation and determine the necessary clinical treatment. Currently, India has no well-established RI for cord blood haematological parameters of newborns. This study aims to establish these intervals from Mumbai, India.

A cross sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital of India from October 2022 to December 2022 on healthy and term neonates having normal birth weight and born to healthy pregnant mothers. About 2 - 3 mL of cord blood was collected from the clamped cord into EDTA tubes from 127 term neonates. The samples were analysed in the haematology laboratory of the institute and the data was analysed. The upper and lower limits were determined using non-parametric method. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the distribution of the parameters between sex of infant, modes of deliveries, maternal age and obstetric history. P value less than 0.05 was considered to declare statistical significance.

The median values and 95% RI for umbilical cord blood haematological parameters of newborns were as follows: WBC = 12.35 [2.56-21.19] × 109/L, RBC = 4.34 [2.45-6.27] × 1012/L, HGB = 14.7 [8.08-21.44] g/dL, HCT = 48 [29-67]%, MCV = 109.6 [59.04-159.1] fL, MCH = 34.5 [30.54-37.79] pg, MCHC = 31.3 [29.87-32.75] %, PLT = 249 [16.97-479.46] × 109/L,LYM = 38 [17-62] %, NEU = 50 [26-74] %, EOS = 2.3 [0.1-4.8] %, MON = 7.3 [3.1-11.4], BAS = 0 [0-1]. This study found no statistically significant difference between sex of infants, except MCHC, and obstetric history. A significant difference was observed in WBC, EOS% and absolute NEU, LYM, MON and BAS by delivery type. A higher platelet count and absolute LYM was observed in the cord blood compared to venous blood.

For the first time, haematological reference intervals in cord blood were established for newborns in Mumbai, India. The values are applicable for newborns from this area. Larger study throughout the country is required.