DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2018.v06i04.034

Pages: 1548-1552

Intrapartum asphyxia is the most common cause of preterm death. Apgar scores are routinely used to assess early neonatal status, but less meticulous in the preterm neonate because of developmental immaturity. Umbilical artery blood gas analysis may provide solid grounds against any supposed link between intrapartum events and poor neonatal outcome. The objectives of the study were to estimate the arterial blood gas analysis through umbilical cord sampling from preterm infants and to correlate with the Apgar score. This was the cross-sectional study conducted at the tertiary care teaching hospital. Preterm babies delivered by cesarean section and vaginal delivery were included in this study which includes the sample size of 48 cases. Apgar score at 1 and 5 minutes after birth was taken and umbilical cord sampling were done for the estimation of arterial blood gas analysis in the preterm neonates. The parameters like gestational age and birth weight were also included in the study. In preterm babies, arterial blood pH was highly correlated to 5th minute Apgar score (r = 0.76) and poorly correlated with 1st minute Apgar score (r = 0.21) and neonatal outcome using Pearson’s correlation. Cord blood gas analysis is required to complete the picture and reflect the oxygenation of the fetus during labor.