ABSTRACT
Objective: To investigate the effect of umbilical cord milking on hematological parameters at 6 weeks of age in late preterm neonates. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Setting: A tertiary care center of Northern India during 2013-14. Participants: 200 moderate to late preterm neonates randomly allocated to early cord clamping or umbilical cord milking group (100 in each). Intervention: In milking group, 25 cm length of cord was milked towards the baby thrice after separating (within 30 s) it from placenta. Main outcome measures: Hemoglobin and serum ferritin at 6 weeks of age. Results: Mean (SD) serum ferritin [428.9 (217.6) vs. 237.5 (118.6) ng/mL; P< 0.01] and hemoglobin [12.1 (1.5) vs. 10.4 (1.2) gm/dL; P<0.01] at 6 weeks were significantly higher in umbilical cord milking group. In early neonatal period, hemodynamic and hematological parameters were not significantly different. Higher incidence of jaundice with higher phototherapy rates (33% vs. 9%; P<0.01) were noted in umbilical cord milking group. Conclusion: In preterm neonates, umbilical cord milking at birth enhances iron stores at 6 weeks of age. Higher phototherapy rates with this intervention are a matter of concern.
ABSTRACT
Aeration experiments were conducted in two rectangular surface aeration tanks of L/B ratios 1.5 and 2 along with a square tank (L/B=1) to study their relative performance due to shape on oxygen transfer process while re-aerating the same volume of water such that the cross-sectional area of all the three tanks is the same. An identical rotor with six flat blades was used in all the three tanks. The geometric dimensions, which were developed to produce maximum aeration in square tanks by a previous study, were used in the present study as well. Results have confirmed that at lower dynamic conditions of the rotor the oxygen transfer coefficient is maximum in square tanks followed by rectangular tank of L/B=2 and it is the least in rectangular tank of L/B=1.5. However, the rectangular tank of L/B=1.5 produces always lower k values for any given rotor speed when compared to square tank, whereas the performance of rectangular tank of L/B=2 is marginally better than square tanks when rotor speeds are higher.