Shabana Kokhar, Munazza Tayyab, Musarrat Saleem.
Effect of Nuchal Cord on Perinatal Outcomes.
Pak J Med Health Sci Jan ;12(4):1856-9.

Aim: To determine the effect of nuchal cord on early neonatal outcomes and its comparison with neonates without nuchal cord. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study and was conducted in duration of 18 months from Jan- 2017 to June-2018 at Rahbar Medical and Dental College Lahore and its attached hospital. Patients having either primigravidity or multigravida and having singleton pregnancy were included. In group N; neonates with nuchal cord were included and in group W; neonates without nuchal cord were included. A total number of 60 patients were included. Neonatal outcomes were noted in terms of birth weight, APGAR score at 5 minutes and NICU admission. APGAR score and birth weight between neonates having nuchal cord and those without nuchal cord was compared using students t-test. While NICU admission rate was compared using chi-square test. Results: Mean age of females at the time of delivery was 28.45 +/-5.78 years in group N and 29.12 +/-6.01 years in group W (p-value 0.66). Mean gestational age was 36.62+/-1.51 weeks in group N and 36.59 +/-1.45 weeks in group W (0.93). Regarding neonatal outcomes, APGAR score after 5 minutes was 8.47 +/-0.49 in group N and 8.71 +/-0.43 in group W (p-value 0.04). Similar findings were found regarding birth weight, mean birth weight was 3.01+/- 0.29 kg in group N and 3.35+/- 0.42 kg in group W (p-value 0.009). NICU admission rate was reported in 6 (20%) neonates in group N and in 01 (3.3%) neonates in group W (p-value 0.04) Conclusion: Presence of nuchal cord at the time of delivery is associated with higher incidence of neonatal morbidity in terms of APGAR score, ICU admission and NICU admission rate.

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