Subclinical hypoxia of infants with intrauterine growth retardation determined by increased serum S100B protein levels

Abstract

To test the hypothesis that serum S100B levels could be useful in detecting neurological damage in infants with intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR). Materials and methods: The study group consisted of infants with IUGR and the control group consisted of age-matched healthy infants. S100B protein levels were measured after birth and compared between groups. Results: For this study, 43 infants with IUGR and 25 infants as a control group were recruited. Gender, gestational age, type of delivery, and maternal age of the groups were statistically insignificant, with the exception of the mean birth weights (2120 ± 450 g in the IUGR group and 3096 ± 570 g in the control group (P < 0.001), respectively). S100B protein levels of the IUGR infants (1.13 ± 0.54) were significantly higher than those of the control group (0.45 ± 0.13) (P < 0.001). IUGR infants treated with antenatal steroids showed lower S100B levels than IUGR infants that did not receive antenatal steroid treatments (P < 0.05). The study group infants were divided into 2 groups, for growth retardation (GR) that was asymmetric (n = 15) and symmetric (n = 28). The asymmetric and symmetric GR infants’ S100B levels were 1.14 ± 0.47 pg/mL and 1.21 ± 0.34 pg/mL, respectively, and no significant differences were found between the 2 groups in terms of S100B levels (P = 0.32). Conclusion: The results of this study favor the opinion that there is an existing intrauterine hypoxia causing hypoxic brain tissue damage in IUGR infants, even when followed up with modern obstetrical screening protocols. Measurements of S100B may be useful in the prediction of outcome in these infants.