ABO phenotype and sepsis in very low birth infants

An association between infection and an individual's blood group has been reported in the adult medical literature. This association has so far not been investigated in the neonate, and may be reflected in the differences in susceptibilities of neonates to bacterial sepsis. The aim of this study is to investigate the association between ABO phenotype and the incidence of sepsis in very low birth weight infants. This is a retrospective data analysis. All very low birth weight infants admitted to The George Washington University Medical Center between November 1997 and March 2003 were classified according to blood groups into group 1: Phenotype O and A [possible B-antibody (ab)]; and group 2: Phenotype B and AB (without B-ab). Multivariate regression analysis was performed to determine statistically significant differences in sepsis between the two groups. Data on 164 infants was analyzed. One hundred and twenty five infants (76.2%) had blood group A or O and 39 infants (23.8%) had blood group B or AB. Mean gestational age was 27.6 ± 2.4 weeks and mean birth weight was 984.5 ± 295 g. Groups were not significantly different in gestational age, birth weight, gender, and race. After controlling for confounding variables, there was no difference between the groups in the incidence of sepsis (34% vs. 33%, P = 0.24). ABO blood group phenotype was not correlated with sepsis in the very low birth weight infants in our unit.