Term Yenidoğanlarda Uzamış Sarılık ile Vitamin B12 Düzeyleri Arasındaki İlişki

Abstract

Abstract 
 Aim: Vitamin B12 deficiency, when observed during the neonatal period, can generally be traced back to maternal causes. In cases of vitamin B12 deficiency, hyperbilirubinemia may occur due to hem overproduction as the result of erythrocyte lysis. Prolonged jaundice is common during the neonatal period, and its underlying etiological causes should be analyzed. The aim of this study was to analyze whether vitamin B12 deficiency has any effect on prolonged jaundice formation in infants. 
 Material and Method: The study examined 89 infants; this included 45 that had been diagnosed with prolonged jaundice and 44 in the control group. Their clinical and demographic characteristics were recorded. Patient group was formed with term infants with prolonged jaundice excluding possible etiological causes of prolonged jaundice. Both the maternal and infant vitamin B12 levels were analyzed. 
 Results:An indirect bilirubin level of 11.8 mg/dl in the prolonged jaundice group and 3.16 mg/dl (p < 0.001), a hemoglobin level of 14.18 gr/dl and 15.7 gr/dl (p = 0.005), and infant vitamin B12 level of 168 pg/ml and 205.2 pg/ml (p=0.013) in the patient and control groups, respectively, showed significant differences between the two. Maternal vitamin B12 levels were found to be similar in the patient and control groups (p= 0.315), and there was no significant correlation between the vitamin B12 levels of the infants and mothers (r = 0.278, p = 0.064). 
 Conclusion: Vitamin B12 deficiency can be related to prolonged jaundice in neonatals, and an early diagnosis of vitamin B12 deficiency in high risks group in the neonatal period can be useful in terms of potentially identifying and controlling related conditions.
 Keywords: Jaundice, newborn, vitamin B12 deficiency