Hemoglobin F: relationship to maturity measures in the neonate.

The maturity of organ functioning is a key to predicting neonatal prognosis, particularly in preterm babies, and laboratory tests have the potential for providing better information than external exams. This approach was examined utilizing the fetal protein, HGB F. While HGB F itself does not correlate well with current measures of maturity, HGB F/WT was found to correlate very strongly, in a linear relationship with the gestational score (G. Score) obtained from a physical and neurological assessment of the neonate. This relationship was not affected by sex or race in our population. A cut-off value for HGB F/WT of 0.025 was chosen as the difference between mature and immature neonates and the value of the test using that cut-off was determined. Infants were classified as preterm or term based upon G. Score and gestational age (from the mother's last menstrual period) and were further classified depending upon whether the HGB F/WT value indicated a mature or premature infant. Utilizing predictive theory, the test was found to have a predictive value of 0.914 with an overall test efficiency of 0.967. These results indicate that this measurement has potential as a maturity marker in neonates.