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Background: This study was undertaken to investi-gate the correlation between blood levels of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and hyponatremia in hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) of newborn infants. The mechanism by which BNP and hyponatremia involved in the pathogenesis of HIE was also investigated.
Methods: The blood levels of BNP and natrium were measured in the HIE and the control groups at the 3, 7 and 14 days of age respectively. The HIE group was divided into two subgroups as hyponatremia group (22 HIE newborn infants with hyponatremia) and normal natrium level group (52 HIE infants with normal natrium level). There were 18 non-HIE newborn infants with normal natrium level in the control group. All parameters were compared among the three groups at the aforementioned age periods.
Results: The blood BNP level of infants with HIE aged 3 days was higher than that of the control group (P<0.01). At 7 days of age, there was no significant difference between the HIE group with normal blood natrium and the control group. But the BNP level in the hyponatremia group was higher than that in the normal blood natrium group (P<0.01). The blood natrium level decreased significantly in the hyponatremia group at the three age periods (P<0.01). The neonatal behavioral neurological assessment showed a significant difference between the two HIE groups as well as between the three different age periods in the hyponatremia group. There was a negative correlation between BNP level and blood natrium level at each age period in the hyponatremia group.
Conclusion: BNP may be involved in hyponatremia in newborn infants with HIE, and may play an important role in the pathogenesis of HIE directly or induced by hyponatremia.
Key words: newborn infants; hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy; hyponatremia; brain natriuretic peptide; neonatal behavioral neurological assessment
World J Pediatr 2007;3(2):121-124
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