Maternal venous procalcitonin levels do not correlate with umbilical cord blood and venous blood concentrations in the neonate

Background: To compare procalcitonin (PCT) concentrations between maternal blood and levels in umbilical cord or venous blood of neonates who were born with or without infection. Methods: Forty-six women with singleton pregnancies, complicated by premature rupture of membranes, preterm delivery and/or chorioamnionitis, were enrolled in this study. The study group comprised 15 patients and their infected newborns. The control group consisted of 31 women and their healthy newborns. We compared PCT concentrations between maternal, umbilical cord and neonatal serum, in both study and control groups. Additionally, PCT levels were compared between the corresponding compartments. Results: PCT concentrations in the umbilical cord and venous blood in infected newborns, but not in noninfected neonates, were significantly higher than maternal serum PCT levels. PCT concentrations of mothers who delivered infected newborns were comparable to those in the controls. However, PCT concentrations in the umbilical cord and in the venous blood of the infected newborns were higher than in healthy newborns. Conclusion: Measurement of maternal PCT concentration during labor does not contribute to early prediction of infection in the neonate. However, umbilical cord PCT concentrations, as well as its neonatal venous levels on the second day of life, seem to be related to intrauterine infection, and may be a useful tool in the diagnosis of early neonatal infection.