Bacterial Endotoxins in Umbilical Cord Blood of Neonates

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Abstract
We tested umbilical cord blood from 255 infants for evidence of bacterial endotoxins. Using a Limulus lysate gelation technique, endotoxin-like activity (ELA) was detected in 13 (9.1%) of 142 term infants and in 23 (20.3%) of 113 preterm infants (p < 0.05), in concentrations ranging from 30 to 3,000 pg Escherichia coli equivalent activity per milliliter of plasma. No factors predisposing to endotoxemia could be detected in term pregnancies but among ELA+ premature infants, placental cultures more frequently revealed gram-negative species (p < 0.05). Cord blood endotoxemia in the concentrations observed was without obvious consequence in mothers and term infants. Our data confirm the existence of natal endotoxemia, a potential mechanism of perinatal injury.