Concentration of magnesium and ionized calcium in umbilical cord blood in distressed term new born infants with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy

Summary and conclosionsNeonatal hypoxic- ischemic encephabpathy (HIE) is an important clinical problem in infancy associated with neonatal mortality and morbidity and long term unfavorable developmental outcome. The syndrome of HIE is considered as a reflection of the pathological alterations in neuronal function due to biochemical events leading to accumulation of imracellular calcium.Magnesium ions (Mg2+) have binding sites inside the N-methyl -D)-aspartate ( NMDA ) channel and are thereby believed to block excessive ( Ca2+) entry into the cell preventing it’s damage.The aim of this study was to investigate the concentration of total magnesium (Mg) and ionized calcium (Ca2+) in umbilical cord blood of term infants in different stages of HIE.Our study included 30 term infants who showed signs of HIE. We evaluated some perinatal risk factors associated with HIE .We ’found HIE more in infants of mothers not attending antenatal care ’services, with signs of intrauterine fetal distress, in delivery by CS, in infants with extending low Apgar scores, and in infants with cord arterial PHWe evaluated neurological abnormalities in studied cases and according to Sarnat and Sarnat staging; cases divided into mild, moderate, and severe HIEFollowing the CNS affection, the lung followed by the GIT, and the Kidneys were the most frequent affected organs among studied cases.