Abstract
OBJECTIVE: We hypothesize that a complete blood count (CBC) with manual differential from umbilical cord blood is equivalent to a CBC with manual differential obtained from the neonate on admission. STUDY DESIGN: A CBC and manual differential was performed on 174 paired umbilical cord blood and admission blood samples from infants <35 weeks gestation. Paired t-test and Pearson's correlation coefficient were the primary statistical tools used for data analysis. RESULT: Cord and admission blood white blood cell (WBC) count, hemoglobin and platelet count all significantly (P<0.0001) correlated with paired neonatal samples (R=0.82, 0.72, 0.76). Admission blood WBC count fell within the variation of WBC count values from currently accepted neonatal admission blood sources. Cord blood hemoglobin was not clinically different than admission hemoglobin (1.0 g dl(-1)). Cord blood platelet counts were not different from admission blood platelet counts (5800 cells per μl, P=0.23). The immature to total granulocyte ratio was not different between samples (P=0.34). CONCLUSION: Umbilical cord blood can be used for admission CBC and differential in premature infants.