Usefulness of maternal fetal red blood cell count in rhesus-positive pregnant women
-
Benjamin Lebrun
and
Yves Jacquemyn
Abstract
Background
Fetal red blood cells (FRBC) in maternal blood are counted in rhesus-negative women to determine the amount of anti-D immunoglobulin to be administered in the case of a rhesus-positive fetus. In rhesus-positive pregnant women this is done in not always very well-defined indications including trauma, miscarriage, fetal death and diminished fetal movements. The aim of this study is to determine if the detection of FRBC is useful in rhesus-positive pregnant woman. This was done by assessing maternal and fetal characteristics that are more likely to give a positive test.
Materials and methods
This was a retrospective cohort study.
Results
A total of 169 FRBC tests were performed in 161 rhesus-positive pregnant women. FRBC were found in 45 (26.6%) of the women. Three patients experienced a miscarriage although their FRBC tests were negative (p = 0.295). Of the seven patients who experienced unexpected stillbirths, three tested positive. The deaths were not less likely to occur if the results had been negative (p = 0.631). There was a statistically significant difference between the different types of trauma indications (p = 0.025): the test was more likely positive if there had been a fall on the ground or staircase or blunt trauma (p = 0.041, 0.026 and 0.018, respectively). FRBC were not more frequently present in the absence of fetal movements (n = 16, p = 0.693).
Conclusion
FRBC in maternal blood were more likely positive in the case of a fall on the ground, or from a staircase. However, a positive test does not necessarily imply fetal pathology and, therefore, does not contribute to clinical management.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Jan Van den Bossche, Department of Clinical Biology, University of Antwerp for providing us the database of the FRBC test performed at the lab of the University Hospital of Antwerp (UZA).
Author Statement
Research funding: The authors state no funding involved.
Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Informed consent: Informed consent is not applicable.
Ethical approval: Institutional review board of Local Ethical Committee of the Antwerp University of Medical Science checked and approved the study (reference number 18/11/145.) in accordance with the principles of the Helsinki Declaration.
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- Original Articles
- Irisin and myostatin responses to acute high-intensity interval exercise in humans
- Reciprocal role of hBD2 and hBD3 on the adaptive immune response by measuring T lymphocyte proliferation in terms of CD4 and CCR6 expression
- Usefulness of maternal fetal red blood cell count in rhesus-positive pregnant women
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