Nucleated red blood cells (nRBCs) in the peripheral smear of newborns are associated with a variety of foetal conditions like Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE), prematurity, sepsis etc. All these conditions are related to a high morbidity, length of hospital stay and mortality.

Aim: To study the relationship between the number of nucleated RBC and the length of hospital stay.

Methods and Results: Peripheral smear of 162 babies admitted to the newborn nursery during the study period were studied for relationship between nRBCs and length of hospital stay. The study population were categorised into three groups based on the length of hospital stay. The group 1 with less than 6 days of hospital stay, group 2 between 7days and 14 days and group 3 with more than 14 days of hospital stay. The mean nRBCs count in group 1 was 4.28, in group 2 was 20 and in group 3 was 28.75. This was found to be statistically significant (p value <0.001).

Conclusion: The nRBCs in the newborn period can be used to predict the length of hospital stay.

Keywords: Nucleated red blood cells, newborn, length of hospital stay.

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Dr Freena Rose

Assistant Professor, Dept of Pathology, Government Medical College, Thrissur, Kerala, Pin 680596

Phone No: 9446551832, 0487 2204832, Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.