Relations between umbilical troponin T levels and fetal distress

Background: one of the most important neonatal morbidity during labor is perinatal asphyxia. hypoxia causes release troponin from cardiac muscles. fetal distress during labor may be detected by monitoring the fetal heart rate. elevated levels of troponin t in cord blood may be associated with intrauterine hypoxia. aim: relations between umbilical troponin t levels and fetal distress methods: cord blood samples were collected from 80 neonates and analyzed. data on birth weight,sex,apgar scores,and mode of delivery were recorded. results: a total of 80 samples were collected,40 samples from infants with fetal distress and 40 samples from infants without fetal distress. the gestational age of these infants ranged from 38 to 40 weeks and birth weight ranged from 2.5 to 4 kg. there was no relation between umbilical troponin t levels and mode of delivery. fetuses with distress had significantly higher cord troponin t levels than control group (26/42 versus 50/46 μg /ml respectively; p < 0.01). conclusions: troponin t levels in the cord blood are unaffected by mode of delivery. infants with distress had significantly higher cord cardiac troponin t levels,suggesting that troponin t may be a useful marker for early detection of hypoxia in neonates. © 2012,shiraz e medical journal. all rights reserved.