Neonatal neutropenia associated with maternal hypertension poses a risk for nosocomial infection

One hundred and six neonates of 24-32 weeks gestation born to hypertensive mothers and 106 concurrent control infants of normotensive mothers were eva luated to determine the relationship between maternal hypertension and neon atal neutropenia and the risk of nosocomial infection developing in neutrop enic infants.. Complete blood counts were performed on both cohorts and ret rospectively evaluated. Neutropenia was diagnosed using published reference ranges for infants with birth weight less than or equal to 1500 g and > 15 00 g. Evidence of nosocomial infection based on a positive blood culture wi th supportive clinical signs of sepsis was documented. The incidence of neu tropenia among infants of hypertensive mothers was not significantly differ ent from that among infants of normotensive mothers (21% vs 24%), but the d uration of neutropenia was significantly longer in the infants of hypertens ive mothers (P = 0.0001). Nosocomial infection was more frequent in neutrop enic than the non-neutropenic hypertensive mothers' infants (55% vs 12%, P = 0.0002). Conclusion Although there is no difference in the incidence of neonatal neu tropenia between infants of hypertensive mothers and those of normotensive mothers, the former group has an increased risk of nosocomial infection in neutropenic infants of hypertensive mothers. This may be related to prolong ed neutropenia which was found in these infants in the present study.