[Frontiers in Bioscience E2, 805-809, June 1, 2010]

Pentraxin-3 in late-preterm newborns with hypoxic respiratory failure

Pietro Sciacca1, Pasqua Betta1, Carmine Mattia1, Giovanni Li Volti2, Alessandro Frigiola3, Sergio Curreri1, Maurizio Amato4, Giuseppe Distefano1

1Department of Pediatrics, Unit of Neonatology and Pediatric Cardiology, University of Catania, Via S. Sofia, 78, 95125 Catania, Italy, 2Department of Biological Chemistry, Medical Chemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Catania, Viale Andrea Doria, 6, 95125, Catania, Italy, 3Department of Cardiac Surgery S. Donato Milanese University Hospital, Via G. Morandi, 30 20097, S. Donato Milanese, Italy, 4Faculty of Medicine, University of Bern, Hochschulstrasse 4 3012, Bern, Swiss

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Abstract
2. Introduction
2. Introduction
3. Patients and methods
4. Results
5. Discussion
6. References

1. ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was: echocardiographical assessment of cardiac alterations in late-preterm newborns with hypoxic respiratory failure (HRF), and, study serum pentraxin-3 (PTX-3) in relation to the severity of respiratory impairment and to some echocardiographic parameters (i.e. ejection fraction (EF), stroke volume (SV) and cardiac output (CO). We enrolled in this study 40 newborn infants whose 22 (group I) with moderate HRF and 18 (group II) with severe HRF. In group I the mean values of EF, SV and CO were significantly higher than in the group II. Our results showed a significant increase of PTX-3 in group II patients at 24h of life when compared to group I. Taking patients all together (n=40), we found a significant (R=-73) reverse correlation between EF and serum values of PTX-3. PTX-3 in our patients with HRF is affected by the severity of the hypoxic insult and correlate with the cardio-vascular impairment.