1269 POSSIBLE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MATERNAL ANESTHESIA AND NEONATAL JAUNDICE: EFFECT IN VITRO OF ANESTHETICS ON THE NEONATAL RED CELL

Abstract

Neonatal jaundice has been correlated with use of anesthetics in the mother. These membrane-active agents cross the placenta & lead to measurable blood levels in the newborn. We investigated the effect in vitro of 3 commonly used agents on filterability of neonatal red cells (RBC). Cord blood was obtained from 10 infants whose mothers had received no medication or anesthetics prior to or during labor. RBC were washed and resuspended to a hematocrit of 5% in pH 7.4 Kreb's phosphate buffer, & incubated for ½ hour at 37°C with either buffer or anesthetic agent (1 or 2 μg/ml). Filterability was tested using a modification of Teitel's method. For the 3 agents tested, no significant difference was seen in T1/2 at the 2 concentrations tested. At both 1&2 μg/ml, the T½ of bupivicaine-treated RBC was significantly prolonged when compared with buffer-treated RBC. These results complement available clinical information linking the use of bupivicaine with neonatal jaundice, and suggest that this agent may be adversely affecting the deformability of neonatal RBC, leading to premature red cell destruction.