Serum pro-oxidant/antioxidant balance in term versus preterm neonates

Introduction: The oxidant/antioxidant status balance is a process that begins before birth and premature infants are particularly susceptible to oxidative stress. According to the mechanisms of oxidative stress and lack of study in this field, in this prospective study we aimed to compare the levels of serum pro-oxidant/antioxidant balance (PAB) in preterm versus term babies. Methods: : This was a prospective cross sectional study that was performed in Ghaem hospital, a university tertiary hospital, Mashhad, Iran. The study population was included of all term and preterm neonates who were admitted to the hospital within birth time. Results: : In our study, 324 neonates were included. One hundred ninety eight neonates were preterm (61.1%) and others were term (38.9%). There was significant difference between PAB level in term and preterm neonates. Serum PAB level was significantly lower in preterm neonates rather than term neonates (21.86± 21.01 versus 50.33± 31.69; P=0.001). There was also significant negative correlation between PAB levels and gestational age. Conclusion: According to previous investigations, we showed for the first time in our study that PAB is lower in preterm newborns rather than term ones.