Data supporting "The Effect of Haemoglobin and Red Blood Cell Transfusion (RBCT) on Gut Perfusion and Injury in Preterm Infants"

Study design:

This prospective observational study recruited preterm infants born at <30 weeks gestation (REC reference: 16/LO/1353).  Infants were monitored weekly for gut oxygenation (60 minutes Near Infrared Spectroscopy [NIRS] measurements of splanchnic tissue oxygenation index [sTOI] and tissue injury (stool calprotectin, urine intestinal (I-FABP) and liver (L-FABP) fatty acid binding protein, and trefoil factor 3 (TFF-3)) until 36 weeks post conceptional age or discharge.  

Haemoglobin was measured along with NIRS and were categorised into three groups: <80g/l (group 1); 80-111.9g/l (group 2) and >120g/l (group 3).  NIRS and gut biomarkers evaluated up to 72 hours before or after RBCT were considered as pre and post RBCT measurements respectively.   

Participants:

All preterm infants born at less than 30 weeks gestation admitted to level 3 medical NICU were screened between 18/10/16 and 09/07/18 for eligibility for this study. Infants were excluded if there was Fetal Growth Restriction (FGR), abnormal antenatal dopplers or significant congenital malformations. Eligible infants were recruited by day 7 of life. 

We initially recruited 50 infants to the study but 2 were excluded the day after the recruitment as Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS) was seen antenatally which was not known about prior to recruitment.  Additionally, parents of two infants withdrew their consent for NIRS measurements and blood sampling after one week but were happy for urine and stool sample collection to continue. Therefore, 48 infants were eligible for inclusion in weekly urine and stool biomarkers measurements and, 46 infants had the complete research measurements of weekly NIRS together with blood samples for Hb level, urine, and stool biomarkers.

Data collected:

Weekly NIRS measurements (sTOI and sFTOE was calculated from this and the peripheral oxygen saturations which were also recorded during the NIRS measurements: [SaO2 – TOI]/SaO2]) , weekly urine gut biomarkers (I-FABP, L-FABP, TFF-3) and weekly stool gut biomarker (calprotectin).

Additional data collected:

Infant demographic details including gestational age, sex, birthweight and ethnicity.  Volume of enteral feeds each week when NIRS measurements were taken, whether RCBT were given, Hb level at time of weekly NIRS measurements, whether they were being treated for NEC or sepsis and presence of PDA were also recorded.

Data file : Effect_Haemoglobin_and_RBCT_on_Gut_Perfusion_17052023.xls 

Excel file with three sheets:

1. Description of data sets: describing the data with all variables labelled and units of measurement and formats provided

2. Recruit constant details: data that is constant over time for each baby

3. Recruit measurement days: data that is collected daily on each baby