Functional state of the kidneys in the neonatal period in children with very low and extremely low body weight

Abstract

BACKGROUND. Preterm birth is still associated with an increased risk of neonatal morbidity and mortality in the early neonatal period. There is strong evidence demonstrating an association between a decrease in the number of nephrons in preterm infants and an increase in blood pressure, the risk of developing chronic kidney disease, which undoubtedly negatively affects the quality of life. THE AIM: to assess the functional state of the kidneys in children with very low (VLBW) and extremely low body weight (ELBW) in the first 8 weeks of postnatal life. PATIENTS AND METHODS. The study involved 134 newborns less than 37 weeks of gestation, who were divided into three groups depending on birth weight. The levels of protein and fluid intake, serum creatinine concentration, GFR according to Schwartz were taken into account as evaluation parameters. The Python programming language, t-tests, ShapiroWilk and d'Agostino tests were used as statistical methods. A threshold level of 0.05 was chosen to interpret the value of p tests for normality testing. RESULTS. There were no differences in the amount of protein received by preterm infants in the study groups both in the first week and subsequent 2–8 weeks of life. The average level of incoming fluid in the first week of postnatal life increased from 1 to 7 days in all study groups. There was a trend towards a more significant decrease in serum creatinine in children born with a larger birth weight. Analyzing the level of glomerular filtration rate in the studied groups, there is a clear picture of a progressive increase in the rate with age. CONCLUSION. The values of diuresis, creatinine level and GFR in premature babies with birth weight less than 1500 grams in the first 2 months of life have been established, which can be used in practice for comparison in the study of various pathologies.