CLINICAL AND LABORATORY ASPECTS IN DIAGNOSTICS OF THE FUNCTIONAL STATE OF THE HEPATOBILIARY SYSTEM IN PRETERM INFANTS

Abstract

Resume. The insufficient information content of existing methods of diagnosis and treatment, the high incidence of complications, and the growing prevalence of digestive diseases in children in Ukraine justify the necessity for in-depth research in order to deepen understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying organ pathology with the ultimate goal of improving medical care for newborns. The aim of this study is to assess clinical and laboratory parameters characterizing the functional state of the hepatobiliary system in preterm infants. Participants and methods. The main group included 68 preterm infants of gestational age 32-33/6 weeks who had clinical signs of severe perinatal pathology; the comparison group involved 27 basically healthy infants of gestational age 34-36/6 weeks. A comprehensive examination of newborns with an assessment of the severity of perinatal pathology and a set of generally accepted biochemical blood parameters was performed. The research was conducted in compliance with the basic provisions of GCP (1996), the Council of Europe Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine (April 4, 1997), the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki on the Ethical Principles of Scientific Medical Research Involving Human Subjects (1964-2008). The research protocol was approved by the Commission on Biomedical Ethics of Bukovinian State Medical University (Protocol No. 5 of 12.09.2015). Statistical processing of the study results was performed using the STATISTICA software (StatSoft Inc., USA, Version 10) MedCalc program (https://www.medcalc. org/index.php). Comparison of quantitative indicators with a normal distribution was performed using the Student's t-test at a statistical significance of p<0.05. Results and Discussion. With a burdened somatic history, unfavorable factors of pregnancy and childbirth in the mother, severe forms of diseases in preterm infants in the early neonatal period are accompanied by clinical signs of disorders of the functional state of the hepatobiliary system, in particular, an enlargement of the liver, hepatosplenic syndrome, edema, meteorism, jaundice, hemorrhagic manifestations, such as gastrointestinal bleeding, acholic stools, and hypoglycemia. Laboratory markers of severe functional hepatoniliary disorders include decreased levels of total protein, bilirubin, and glucose; increased levels of urea and cholesterol; reduced enzymatic activity of aspartate aminotransferase and lactate dehydrogenase. A significant decrease in the activity of the enzymes alanine aminotransferase and γ-glutamine transaminase and a decrease in the activity of alkaline phosphatase and Ca2+ level were also observed. Conclusions. The obtained results of clinical and laboratory parameters indicate the necessity to study the main pathophysiological syndromes of hepatobiliary system dysfunction in perinatal pathology, considering morphological and functional characteristics in preterm infants.