PREDICTION OF PRETERM BIRTH ON THE BASIS OF COMPLETE MATERNAL HEMOGRAM-A PROSPECTIVE OBSERVATIONAL STUDY

Prematurity is dened as a birth that occurs before 37 completed weeks (less than 259 days) of gestation. It is associated considerable risk of morbidity and mortality, particularly among extremely preterm infants. It complicates 5-8% of pregnancies in most developed and developing countries and incidence is still increasing worldwide. This study was aimed to estimate the importance of complete blood count parameters like neutrophils, neutrophil to lymphocyte parameters, platelet to lymphocyte parameters for predicting the timing of birth in threatened preterm labour cases. This prospective observational study was conducted in Department of OBG, Vijayanagar Institute of Medical Sciences, Ballari, between 01st August 2023 to 31 st January 2024. Gestational week at delivery showed weak negative correlations with LMR (Lymphocyte- to-Monocyte Ratio) (r* = -0.211, p = 0.03*) and CRP (C-Reactive Protein) (r* = -0.06, p = 0.56), indicating that higher LMR and lower CRP levels may be associated with longer gestational periods. The correlations for WBC (White Blood Cell count) and NLR (Neutrophil-to- Lymphocyte Ratio) were not signicant (NS). As a result, only WBC was found to be a valuable parameter in predicting preterm labor and PPROM, as the CBC test is a cheap and routinely applied test. Although increased LMR levels were demonstrated to be associated with preterm birth and threatened preterm labor, respectively, to be able to extrapolate these ndings into clinical daily practice, further studies are needed