Lead and Mercury Levels in Preterm Infants Before and After Blood Transfusions

Very low birth weight (VLBW) infants usually receive packed red blood cell unit (pRBC) transfusions. Heavy metal transfer via pRBCs is not widely discussed before. This study aimed to determine pre-/post-transfusion erythrocyte lead and mercury levels in infants and to correlate these levels to heav...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biological trace element research 2019-04, Vol.188 (2), p.344-352
Main Authors: Takci, Sahin, Asci, Ali, Erkekoglu, Pinar, Yiğit, Sule, Kocer-Gumusel, Belma, Yurdakök, Murat
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biochemistry
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biotechnology
Blood cells
Blood transfusion
Correlation
Erythrocytes
Heavy metals
Infants
Lead content
Life Sciences
Low birth weight
Mercury
Mercury (metal)
Metal concentrations
Nutrition
Oncology
Premature babies
Seafood
Transfusion
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Summary:Very low birth weight (VLBW) infants usually receive packed red blood cell unit (pRBC) transfusions. Heavy metal transfer via pRBCs is not widely discussed before. This study aimed to determine pre-/post-transfusion erythrocyte lead and mercury levels in infants and to correlate these levels to heavy metal concentrations in pRBCs. VLBW infants ( n  = 80), needing pRBC transfusion for the first time, were enrolled. Erythrocyte heavy metal levels were determined in pre-/post-transfusion blood samples and also in pRBC units. Mean lead and mercury levels in the pRBCs were found to be 16.3 ± 10.8 and 3.75 ± 3.23 μg/L, respectively. Of the infants, 69.7% received lead above reference dose. Erythrocyte lead levels increased significantly after transfusions (10.6 ± 10.3 vs. 13 ± 8.5, p   0.05). There was a significant correlation between mean difference of mercury levels after transfusion and amount of mercury delivered by pRBCs ( r  = 0.28). Infants can be subject to high levels of lead and mercury through pRBC transfusions.
ISSN:0163-4984
1559-0720
DOI:10.1007/s12011-018-1436-5