Cord-Blood Total Protein Level as a Screening Aid for the Idiopathic Respiratory-Distress Syndrome

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Abstract
Umbilical-cord blood total protein determinations were performed on specimens from 2200 infants delivered over an eight-month period with the use of a rapid, convenient, and reproducible TS-meter protein measurement. In 34 infants the idiopathic respiratory-distress syndrome developed; 33 of the 34 had a cord-blood total protein concentration of 4.6 g per 100 ml or less. One third of the neonates with protein values at or below this level were affected by the syndrome, as were 1/2 of the immature or low-birth-weight infants with low protein levels. Independent of birth weight or maturity, infants with cord protein determinations above 4.6 g per 100 ml demonstrated a favorable prognosis, with an incidence of respiratory-distress syndrome of less than 0.5 per cent.