Media Counseling
Wednesday, December 30, 2020
What
Babies with very low birth weight often need blood movement to survive. A study supported by the National Institutes of Health suggests that providing a higher threshold of red blood cells within permissible limits does not have any benefit in surviving or reducing brain weakening beyond a lower threshold. . The research was conducted by Haresh Kirpalani, BM, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and colleagues and was funded by the NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institute of Heart, Lung and Blood, and National Center for the Advancement of Translational Sciences. The study reveals in the New England Journal of Medicine.
True preterm babies (born before 29 weeks gestation) and those weighing less than 1,000 grams (just over 2 pounds) are at high risk for anemia due to their early stage of development, less potential to produce red blood cells and require more blood sampling as part of their intensive medical care. Previous studies suggest that anemic infants would have a lower risk of death, mental retardation, cerebral palsy and loss of hearing and sight if they received transplants leading to higher hemoglobin thresholds within the range to which they are exposed. has now been adopted. Measuring hemoglobin, a protein produced in red blood cells, indicates the proportion of red blood cells. Hemoglobin transfer thresholds for preterm infants vary according to weight, stage of maturity and other factors.
Out of 845 infants assigned to a higher hemoglobin threshold, 50.1% died or survived neurodevelopmental impairment, compared with 49.8% of 847 infants assigned to a lower threshold. When the two complementary outcomes were evaluated separately, both groups had similar mortality rates (16.2% vs. 15%) and neurodevelopmental impairment (39.6% vs. 40.3%). The authors conclude that a higher hemoglobin threshold increased the number of solutions, but did not improve the chance of survival without neurodevelopmental impairment.
Who
Andrew Bremer, MD, Acting Head, NICHD Branch of Pregnancy and Perinatology, is available for comment.
Article
Kirpalani, H., et al. High or low hemoglobin transfer rates for preterm infants. New England Journal of Medicine. 2020.
About the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD): NICHD conducts research and training to understand human development, promote reproductive health, enhance the lives of children and adolescents, and maximize the potential of all. For more information, visit https://www.nichd.nih.gov.
About the National Institutes of Health (NIH):
NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, comprises 27 Institutes and Centers and is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the leading federal agency that conducts and supports basic, clinical, and translational medical examination, and examines the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
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