Percentile curves for various hematologic measurements at birth in Arab preterm babies of different gestational ages
K. N. Haque and H. M. Bahakim
Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Percentile curves were calculated for hemoglobin; hematocrit; total red and
white blood cell counts; mean corpuscular volume; mean corpuscular
hemoglobin; mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration; and platelet,
neutrophil, band cell, lymphocyte, monocyte, basophil, and eosinophil
counts in preterm babies of 24 through 36 weeks' gestation. The curves were
derived from mainly Saudi Arabian preterm babies who were born in Riyadh,
which is just above sea level. Babies born to mothers with hematologic
problems or babies who themselves had any evidence of hematologic disorder,
blood loss, or disorders that affect hematologic values, eg, asphyxia, were
excluded from the reference population. Six hundred two newborns were
included in the study; however, after exclusions, the final reference
population was 550. A minimum of 50 babies were studied for each
gestational age except for gestations of 24 and 25 weeks. For these two
gestations, 27 and 21 babies were studied, respectively. The percentile
curves should be useful as a guide to the normal range of these variables
in babies, particularly those of Arab origin.
