Blood volume and haematocrit studies in respiratory distress syndrome of the newborn

Abstract

The blood volumes and haematocrit values were measured in 17 infants with the idiopathic respiratory distress syndrome and in 20 unaffected infants with a birth weight of less than 2- 5 kg. Cord clamping was not delayed in these infants. The mean figure for blood volume in babies with RDS (94 ml./kg.) was not statistically different from the mean of 107 ml./kg. for the unaffected babies (p >0-1). The haematocrit estimations showed a mean of 48 % for babies with RDS and 58 % for the unaffected babies, which is a highly significant difference (p < 01). The low values for the haematocrit in our cases of RDS contrast with the sometimes expressed belief that such babies have a high haematocrit. They may indicate sequestration of the red cells in the lungs and this might be related in some degree to the respiratory distress.