The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between ascorbic acid concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and severity of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) in newborn infants. Infants at or above 37 weeks of gestation were classified to have mild, moderate or severe HIE according to Sarnat and Sarnat. Three groups of neonates were studied: 8 patients had mild (group I), 8 patients had moderate (group II) and 9 patients had severe (group III) HIE. CSF samples obtained between 24 and 72 hours of life were immediately frozen at -70° C till the time of measurement. CSF ascorbic acid concentrations were measured with high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method. The CSF ascorbic acid concentrations in groups I, II and III were 43.08 ± 17.15 mg/L, 70.28 ± 42.66 mg/L, and 77.10 ± 43.79 mg/L, respectively. The CSF ascorbic acid levels were not statistically different in the three groups (p>0.05). The results of this study indicate that the CSF ascorbic acid level is not an accurate tool for assessing the severity of neurological insult after perinatal asphyxia.

Keywords: hipoksik iskemik ensefalopati, askorbik asit, BOS, yenidoğan, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, ascorbic acid, cerebrospinal fluid, newborn