CORD-BLOOD RETINOL AND RETINOL-BINDING PROTEIN IN PRETERM AND TERM NEONATES

Vitamin A deficiency causes abnormalities in cellular replication, aff ecting the functional and structural integrity of epithelial cells. Ba sed on the fact that vitamin A is transferred to the fetus in the last trimester of pregnancy, and the preterm baby may have low concentrati ons of this nutrient, we decided to study two groups of newborns durin g a six month period, evaluating their serum retinol and retinol-bindi ng protein concentrations from cord blood samples. Group I consisted o f 41 neonates with gestational age greater than or equal to 37 weeks a nd group II of 58 newborns with gestational age at birth less than or equal to 36.6 weeks. Results showed suboptimal concentrations of retin ol in the preterm group ( < 40 ug/dL) and retinol-binding protein conc entrations < 3 mg/dL) suggestive of a relative hypovitaminosis A in th e same group of patients. It is important to undertake follow-up studi es during the first month of life of the preterm babies in order to ev aluate the need of vitamin A supplementation therapy in this group of patients.