Related Experiment Videos
Leukocytosis in labor: what are its implications?
P Molberg1, C Johnson, T S Brown
1Cox Family Practice Residency, Lester E. Cox Medical Centers, Springfield, Missouri 65802.
Objective:
The objective of this study was to determine the usefulness of the peripheral white blood count (WBC) drawn during labor as a predictor of postpartum morbidity.
Method:
Hospital charts on 309 consecutive obstetrical deliveries performed by residents of the Cox Family Practice Residency were reviewed for evidence of maternal or neonatal postpartum morbidity. An analysis of means was used to compare the average antepartum WBC in the morbid and non-morbid groups.
Results:
The average WBC in a laboring patient was 12,450, with a range of 4,400 to 29,100. Patients with postpartum complications had a WBC similar to that of patients without complications (12,900 vs 12,300 p = 0.449).
Conclusion:
An elevated WBC obtained on admission to the labor ward is not helpful in predicting postpartum complications in mothers or newborns.