Serum immunoglobulin and complement levels in prematures with parenteral feeding--preliminary results.

Immunoglobulins IgA, IgG and IgM and complement factors C3 and C4 have been measured in a population of premature infants to evaluate their degree of immunological maturity. All the infants were receiving complete parenteral nutrition. In parallel, the same parameters were measured in twenty two full term, healthy neonates. To explore maturation and liver function, the authors used other proteins as nutritional markers. Differences in the immunoglobulins, but not in the complement fractions were seen between the two groups. Two applications are suggested: incidence of infections and post partum maturation.