Background: Meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS) is linked to inflammation,but data on the patterns of hematologica indices and C-reactive protein (CRP) in MAS are lacking  The aim of the study was to evaluate CRP, white blood cell count (WBC), absolute neutrophil count (ANC), and procalcitonin in MASandtoassesstheirassociationwithdiseaseseverity.
Methods: a prospective hospital  based  studyincluding  200  babies admitted in this period with MSAF, among those 50 babies have meconium aspiration syndrome (25 males). Recruited neonates were 1-7 days old with range of weight from 2 to 3.9kg
Results: all the inflammatory indices were markedly elevated in cases of  MAS with septicemia in comparison with cases of  MAS without septicemia, maximum CRP, and maximum PCT values  were higher in neonates with very sever and sever MAS compared to non sever MAS.  PCT and CRP correlated with duration of mechanical ventilation , duration of any respiratory support and length of hospital stay. PCT more sensitive rather than other inflammatory indices.