Carboxyhemoglobin Formation in Preterm Infants Is Related to the Subsequent Development of Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia

Abstract EN

Objective.

To evaluate the usefulness of carboxyhemoglobin (CO-Hb) levels as a biomarker to predict the development and severity of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD).

Methods.

Twenty-five infants born at <33 wk of gestational age or with a birth weight of <1,500 g were enrolled.

CO-Hb levels were measured between postnatal days 5 and 8, 12 and 15, 19 and 22, and 26 and 29.

Urinary levels of 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), advanced oxidation protein products, and Nε-(hexanoyl) lysine were measured between postnatal days 5 and 8 and 26 and 29.

Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to compare the biomarkers’ predictive values.

Results.

Compared with infants in the no-or-mild BPD group, infants with moderate-to-severe BPD exhibited higher CO-Hb levels during the early postnatal period and higher 8-OHdG levels between postnatal days 5 and 8.

Using ROC analysis to predict the development of moderate-to-severe BPD, the area under the curve (AUC) for CO-Hb levels between postnatal days 5 and 8 was higher than AUCs for the urinary markers.

Conclusions.

CO-Hb levels during the early postnatal period may serve as a practical marker for evaluating oxidative stress and the severity of subsequently developing BPD.