Pattern of Serum Alpha-Foetoprotein of Full- Term Neonates in Sokoto North-Western Nigeria

Background: Numerous studies have reported the reference range of serum alpha- foeto protein in apparently healthy full-term neonates, which could help in screening, diagnosis and monitoring of intrauterine anomaly during pregnancy. However such studies are lacking in Sokoto metropolis.   The objective of this study was to determine the reference range of serum alpha-foetoprotein (SAFP) in full-term singleton neonates and its relationship to gestational age, birth weight and birth length in Sokoto north western Nigeria.

Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in some selected hospitals in Sokoto metropolis, between March and November 2012.  Using semi-structured questionnaire data on gestational age, birth weight, length, gender were collected of full-term singleton normal delivery babies of apparently healthy mothers. Four millilitres of cord blood were collected to determine the SAFP using Enzyme linked Immunosorbent assay (ELISA) Method.  The data was processed using analyse it 221t, the P ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The SAPF values ware analysed using descriptive statistics. The association between the variables are analysed using Pearson correlation.

Results: Full-term neonates (n=104) were enrolled for the study. The reference range and mean ±SD of SAFP of 104 apparently healthy singleton babies were 143.3 to 372 ng/ml and 243.57 ± 51.9 ng/ml respectively. There was significant   negative correlation   between SAFP and respective GA (r  -0.33, p< 0.05). No association was not observed between SAFP and birth weight or birth length. (r  0.29, p>0.05)

 Conclusion: This study reported the mean and preliminary reference range of serum alpha-foetoprotein distribution in the neonatal population of Sokoto, North-Western Nigeria. This could be of help in the screening and diagnosis of intra-uterine foetal anomaly during pregnancy.