Abstract

Background: Peripheral blood film morphology in neonates is significantly different from the adults as neonatal erythrocytes show a marked heterogeneity. Moreover, there seem to be a more significant numbers of irregular shaped red blood cells such as stomatocytes, keratocytes, schistocytes, and acantocytes in newborns, particularly in preterm infants. This review study focused on the red blood cell morphology in term and preterm neonates to detect clues to distinguish between the peripheral blood film of newborns under physiological and pathological conditions.
Methods: The peripheral blood findings and blood cell counts in preterm and term neonates were studied and compared to each other using available scientific databases and indexing systems such as PubMed and Google Scholar.
Results: This approach is a simple, cost-effective, quick, and informative method to distinguish between physiological and pathological conditions in neonates and detect hematological disorders.
Conclusions: Peripheral blood film plays a crucial role in diagnosing anemia and blood-related diseases, determining the type of anemia, and identifying specific morphological abnormalities of red cell membrane disorders.

DOI: 10.7754/Clin.Lab.2023.230428