Normal immunoglobulin values in healthy children in the newborn period

Background and aim: In order to clinically diagnose a disease and follow up after diagnosis and to accurately evaluate laboratory analysis results, there should be medical reference intervals according to the patient population and these values are required to be precise. In this study; our aim was to contribute the determination of normal immunoglobulin values of newborn babies by studying IgG, IgA, IgM, and IgGsubgroups (IgG 1, IgG 2, IgG 3 and IgG 4) from term, healthy, newborn babies born in Sakarya province, Turkey. Materials and Methods: In our study, by taking venous blood, IgA, IgM, IgG and subgroups of IgG were measured nephelometrically from 54 newborns between postnatal 15 – 21 days old, born between 39th –41st birth weeks, without any problems during delivery (with APGAR score above 8 in the first and fifth minutes), as well as without any congenital disease and anomalies, history of perinatal infection, history of being twins, history of transfusion, known history of chronic disease in the mother. Whether the results were evaluated vary based upon the newborns birth style, diet and gender and demographic characteristics or not. Results: This study enrolls, 54 newborns, whom 42 (77,78%) born by cesarean section and 12 (22,22%) born by normal deliveries. 41 newborns (75,93%) were only breastfed while 13 (24,07%) were fed with breast milk and baby formula. According to the results obtained; 95% confidence intervals of serum immunoglobulins and IgG subgroups, as follows; IgG: 6,52-7,22 g/L, IgA: 0,06-0,08 g/L, IgM: 0,27-0,35 g/L, IgG1: 495,66-544,33 mg/dL, IgG2: 139,63-169,49 mg/dL, IgG3: 22,72-27,69 mg/dL and IgG4: 21,49-33,70 mg/dL. There is no significant correlation when looked at the correlation between demographic values (birth style, gender and diet) and IgA, IgM, IgG, as well as subgroups of IgG. A reverse-directional low-moderate correlation (r:-0,344) between birth length and IgA (p:0,011), as well as a low-moderate correlation (r:0,320) in the same direction between the head circumference at the birth and the IgM (p:0,018) were found. Conclusion: Our study provided usable data on the normal values of serum IgG, IgA, IgM and subgroups of IgG for newborn healthy infants and on the changes of these values including gender, diet and birth style. It is thought to be one of the unique and reliable reference sources for our country. Keywords: Reference range, Immunoglobulins, Immunoglobulin G subgroups.