Abstract
INTRODUCTION: The study of the biochemical parameters of cord blood acts as a mirror, which usually reflects the neonatal status. The widely used system for the evaluation of a neonate is the Apgar score. There is no comprehensive published data which has established the association between the cord blood glucose level and the Apgar score. Similarly, there is also no well accepted reference range of the cord blood glucose level. OBJECTIVES: The main objectives of the present study was to ascertain any adverse effects of an abnormal cord blood glucose level on the neonatal status and to find out a standard reference level of glucose in cord blood. METHODS: The cord blood glucose estimation was done by using the glucose oxidase peroxidase method and the statistical analysis was performed by using the SPSS, version 16 software. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: In the present study, the cord blood glucose level was found to have no correlation with the Apgar scores which were calculated at both one minute and five minutes after birth. It was also found that for the foetus to be free from any obvious complication, the cord blood glucose level had to be around 87 mg/dl. The fluctuations in the maternal glucose levels are weakly associated with the glucose level in the cord blood.