الفهرس 
INTRODUCTIONOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
A controversy exists about whether and when to transfuse blood in all areas of clinical medicine. Significant anemia results in reduced oxygen¬carrying capacity below the oxygen needs of the tissue and thus may lead to increased anaerobic metabolism with production of lactic acid. Up till now there is no guidelines for blood transfusion in healthy preterm infants. In this study we try to show if blood lactate measurement may be used as an index for transfusion in those preterms. Our study compromised 33 healthy pretenn infants (had received no medications except theophylline, required no intravenous fluids or oxygen supplementation). Twenty-three of these infants (group I) were given once transfusion according to the decision of physician incharge. The main indications of transfusion were poor weight gain and Hb < 10 gm / dl which found in 61 % of these babies. The remaining 10 infants were not transfused (group II) and used as a control to measure normal blood lactate. All preterm infants were subjected to thorough history and clinical examination. Before and after transfusion we measured Hb levels, RBCs and reticulocytic counts. At the same time blood lactate levels were registered. The results of infants in group I were compared to each other and to group II.