Population characteristics
| Healthy | Infants with respiratory distress | |
| Total number of infants | 215 | 27 |
| Males | 121 (56%) | 23 (85%) |
| Gestation (completed weeks) | 39 (37–41) | 32 (28–35) |
| Birth weight (kg) | 3.34 (2.89–3.63) | 1.88 (1.06–2.15) |
| Normal intrapartum cardiotocograph | 167 (78%) | 15 (55%) |
| Caesarean section | 85 (39%) | 17 (63%) |
| Apgar at 5 minutes | 10 (9–10) | 9 (9–10) |
| Cord pH | 7.32 (7.28–7.36) | 7.35 (7.32–7.39) |
| Cord base excess | −4.0 (−5.8 to −2.2) | −2.1 (−2.9 to −0.9) |
| Cardiac troponin T (ng/ml) | 0.010 (0.010–0.014) | 0.031 (0.010–0.084)1-150 |
Values expressed as number (%) or median (interquartile range).
↵1-150 p<0.0001 compared with healthy infants.