Maternal Neutrophil Inflammation Markers Predict Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia in Preeclamptic Pregnancies

PROBLEM: Preeclampsia (PE) and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) are severe disorders that significantly affect maternal and neonatal health worldwide. This study evaluated the predictive value of maternal hematologic indicators in PE patients for the risk of offspring BPD. METHOD OF STUDY: A retrospective cohort study was conducted enrolling infants born before 34 weeks' gestation between September 2017 and December 2019 at the Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University. Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between maternal hematologic indicators and offspring BPD. Subgroup analysis was performed to explore the interaction effects between maternal hematologic indicators and PE on neonatal BPD risk. RESULTS: Data from 510 preterm infants and their mothers were analyzed. After adjusting for potential confounders, interaction effects between maternal white blood cell count (WBC), absolute neutrophil count (ANC), and PE on offspring BPD were observed (p for interaction <0.05). Among normotensive mothers, elevated WBC or ANC did not significantly increase the risk of offspring BPD (OR [95% CI]: 1.02 [0.93-1.12] for both). In contrast, in PE patients, higher levels of WBC and ANC were independently associated with offspring BPD risk (OR [95% CI]: 1.24 [1.06-1.47] and 1.22 [1.05-1.44], respectively). Moreover, WBC > 11.90 and NLR > 7.65 in PE patients were identified as independent predictors of neonatal BPD (OR [95% CI]: 4.88 [1.27-21.04] and 4.67 [1.41-17.27], respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Neutrophil-related hematologic indicators, including WBC, ANC, and NLR in PE patients, are significantly and independently associated with the development of BPD. These findings highlight the potential of neutrophils as a promising focus for investigating the relationship between these maternal and neonatal disorders.