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Residual blood volume in the umbilical cord of extremely premature infants
Author(s) -
Hosono Shigeharu,
Hine Kotaro,
Nagano Nobuhiko,
Taguchi Yosuke,
Yoshikawa Kayo,
Okada Tomoo,
Mugishima Hideo,
Takahashi Shigeru,
Takahashi Shori
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
pediatrics international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.49
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1442-200X
pISSN - 1328-8067
DOI - 10.1111/ped.12464
Subject(s) - medicine , umbilical cord , hematocrit , blood volume , umbilicus (mollusc) , cord , volume (thermodynamics) , placenta , anesthesia , surgery , fetus , pregnancy , anatomy , physics , genetics , quantum mechanics , biology
Background The aim of this study was to investigate residual blood volume in the umbilical cord of extremely premature infants. Methods Twenty extremely premature infants were held at or below the placenta while the umbilical cord was clamped and cut at approximately 2–3 cm from the umbilicus within 30 s after birth. The umbilical cord was then clamped near the placenta to obtain a length of approximately 30 cm and cut. The residual blood volume in the segment of cord was drained and measured in milliliters. Results Mean birthweight was 846 ± 172 g (range, 587–1180 g). The average length of the clamped segment of umbilical cord was 29.8 ± 1.5 cm (range, 27–32 cm). Total residual blood volume and residual blood volume per cm were 15.5 ± 6.7 mL (range, 6–25 mL) and 0.5 ± 0.2 mL/cm (range, 0.2–0.8 mL/cm), respectively. The residual cord blood volume per kilogram of infant weight per 30 cm was 17.7 ± 5.5 mL/kg/30 cm (range, 8.9–29.0 mL/kg/30 cm). Conclusion Infants could receive approximately 18 mL/kg of whole blood by one‐time milking of 30 cm umbilical cord. With an average hematocrit of 40%, this volume is equivalent to approximately 13 mL of packed red blood cells (hematocrit 55%).