White blood cells in pregnancy: reference intervals for before and after delivery.

ABSTRACT:

Background

White blood cells (WBC) are commonly measured to investigate suspected infection and inflammation in pregnant women, but the pregnancy-specific reference interval is variably reported, increasing diagnostic uncertainty in this high-risk population. It is essential that clinicians can interpret WBC results in the context of normal pregnant physiology, given the huge global burden of infection on maternal mortality.

Methods

We performed a longitudinal, repeated measures population study of 24,318 pregnant women in Oxford, UK, to map the trajectory of WBC between 8-40 weeks of gestation. We defined 95% reference intervals (RI) for total WBC, neutrophils, lymphocytes, eosinophils, basophils, and monocytes for the antenatal and postnatal periods.

Findings

WBC we

SUBMITTER: Dockree S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8626574 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature