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The effect of maternal blood contamination on amniotic fluid glucose and white blood cell count from preterm
S J Carlan1, D E Gearity, W F O'Brien
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and Women, Orlando, Florida, USA.
Objective:
To determine the influence of maternal blood contamination on amniotic fluid (AF) glucose and white blood cell count (WBC).
Methods:
Amniotic fluid from 23 preterm, nondiabetic pregnant women was studied. Maternal blood was added to the AF at increasing concentrations, and glucose and WBCs were assessed.
Results:
The median AF glucose in the uncontaminated specimen was 43 mg/dL (range 11-86). Median glucose levels were unchanged by the addition of maternal blood until a mean +/- standard deviation AF red blood cell count of 63,000 +/- 22,000/mm3 was exceeded, at which time the median glucose level significantly increased to a median of 45 mg/dL (range 19-90). The ratio of observed to expected values of WBCs ranged from 0.12-1.8, regardless of the level of maternal blood contamination.
Conclusion:
Glucose levels in preterm AF-containing maternal blood are accurate in all except the most heavily contaminated specimens. Accurate determination of the WBC in contaminated AF is difficult.