Objective  To explore the values of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and soluble cell adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) in the diagnosis of neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE).

  Methods  A total of 102 neonates with HIE and 54 healthy neonates were selected as the research subjects, and they were included in HIE group and control group respectively. Levels of serum MCP-1 and sICAM-1 of neonates were compared between two groups, the levels of serum MCP-1 and sICAM-1 were compared in neonates with different severities of HIE, and the correlations of the levels of serum MCP-1 and sICAM-1 with the severity of HIE were analyzed.

  Results  The levels of serum MCP-1 and sICAM-1 in the HIE group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve showed that the values of area under the curve (AUC) of serum MCP-1 and sICAM-1 in the diagnosis of HIE were 0.828 and 0.794 respectively, and the AUC of combined diagnosis of HIE was 0.903. With the aggravation of the disease, the levels of serum MCP-1 and sICAM-1 in children with mild, moderate and severe HIE increased gradually significantly (P < 0.05). Spearman correlation analysis showed that the levels of serum MCP-1 and sICAM-1 were significantly positively correlated with the severity of the disease (r=0.618, 0.527, P < 0.05).

  Conclusion  Serum MCP-1 and sICAM-1 may be involved in mediating the pathophysiological process of immune inflammation of brain injury in children with HIE, and are closely related to the severity of the disease, so the two indexes have certain values in diagnosing condition of the disease in children with HIE.