Cord Serum Bilirubin Research Articles

Predictability of Umbilical Cord Serum Bilirubin in Estimating the Risk of Hyperbilirubinemia in Term Neonates with ABO Incompatibility- A Prospective Cohort Study

Introduction: Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia is a significant cause of morbidity among term neonates. Delayed follow- up of newborns may lead to considerable morbidity and encephalopathy. High bilirubin levels may necessitate exchange transfusion, especially in infants with ABO or Rh blood incompatibility. Measurement of Umbilical Cord Bilirubin (UCB) is an easily available, inexpensive and non invasive method to predict the development of hyperbilirubinemia in newborns. Aim: To determine the predictive value of UCB in estimating the risk of subsequent hyperbilirubinemia in term neonates with ABO incompatibility and to establish a UCB cut-off associated with the risk of hyperbilirubinemia development. Materials and Methods: This prospective cohort study was conducted at the Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Jalandhar, Punjab, India, from June 2022 to March 2023. A total of 113 term babies born to O+ mothers were included in the study. At the time of delivery, cord blood was drawn from the placental side of the cord for blood group, Direct Coomb’s Test (DCT), and serum bilirubin analysis. Infants were followed-up every 12 hours while inpatient and every 48 hours after discharge until day 5 for assessment of clinical jaundice. Significant hyperbilirubinemia was managed with phototherapy according to American Academy of Paediatrics (AAP) guidelines. The data was collected and subjected to statistical analysis using IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 20.0 software, with a significance level set at p-value <0.05, utilising Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Results: A total of 113 term neonates were enrolled in the study, of which 57 (50.4%) were females. The mean cord bilirubin level was 2.6±1.06 mg/dL. A total of 40 (35.3%) babies developed significant jaundice requiring phototherapy, with a mean highest bilirubin level of 15±3.2 mg/dL. Using a cord bilirubin level of ≥2.0 mg/dL, significant hyperbilirubinemia could be predicted with a sensitivity of 80%, specificity of 54%, positive predictive value of 57.97%, and negative predictive value of 75%. There was a positive correlation between cord bilirubin and postnatal serum bilirubin in the present study, as determined by ROC analysis {Area Under Curve (AUC) >0.5}. Conclusion: The present study concluded that UCB is an important predictor of significant hyperbilirubinemia occurrence in newborns with ABO incompatibility.

Association of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia with cord albumin among term appropriate for gestational age neonates

Background: Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia (NH) is the most common abnormality seen during the neonatal period. It affects nearly 60% of term and 80% of preterm neonates during the first week of life. Early discharge of healthy term and late preterm newborns after normal vaginal delivery is a common practice however there are reports of bilirubin induced brain damage (kernicterus) occurring in these infants. Therefore, to ascertain whether cord albumin can be used as a reliable indicator for predicting neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. Methods: A tertiary care hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted in 142 healthy late preterm and term newborns of either gender with icterus appearing only after 24 hour of life with no other illness using a non-probability sampling method. Data analysis was done using statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) version 16. Chi-square was used to determine the association between cord albumin and hyperbilirubinemia. Results: There is a significant negative correlation between cord albumin and serum bilirubin at 72-96 hours of life (p=0.001). A total of 142 healthy late preterm and term neonates included. The study group based on Cord serum albumin (CSA) levels ≤2.8 g/dl, 2.9-3.3 g/dl, and ≥3.4 g/dl shows 77.27%, 22.7% and none respectively developed NH requiring phototherapy. According to receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis, the cutoff point of 2.75 g/dl provides the best sensitivity and specificity result. Conclusions: Cord serum albumin level ≥3.4 g/dl are probably safe for early discharge whereas cord serum albumin level <3.4 g/dl will need a close follow-up to check for the development of jaundice.

Risk Stratification of Term Neonates for Development of Significant Hyperbilirubinemia by Cord Serum Bilirubin and Albumin Ratio

ABSTRACT Background: Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia is a common neonatal problem. Although benign in the majority of the cases, few neonates develop bilirubin-induced neurological dysfunction further progressing to kernicterus. Due to early hospital discharge of healthy-term neonates, there is need of a reliable tool for early prediction of significant hyperbilirubinemia in them. Aim: The aim of this study is to determine the utility of cord total serum bilirubin/albumin ratio as an early predictor of significant neonatal hyperbilirubinemia in healthy-term newborns. Settings and Design: This is a tertiary care hospital-based prospective cohort study. Subjects and Methods: The study was conducted on 100 sequentially born healthy-term neonates. Cord bilirubin/albumin ratio was calculated and neonates were divided into two groups on the basis of 50th percentile value. Serum bilirubin was also measured at 72 h of life in all neonates and value ≥17 mg/dl was taken as significant requiring intervention. Statistical Analysis Used: Continuous variables were summarized as mean and standard deviation while nominal/categorical variables as percentage. Association between total serum bilirubin at 72 h of life and cord bilirubin/albumin ratio was assessed using two-sample independent t-test and Pearson correlation coefficient formula. Cutoff value of the ratio was derived using receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis. Results: Statistically significant association was observed between cord bilirubin/albumin ratio with the development of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. On ROC analysis, cutoff point to predict significant hyperbilirubinemia was found to be >0.66 (92.9% sensitivity, 60.5% specificity, and PPV 79.61%). Conclusions: Cord total serum bilirubin/albumin ratio is a good parameter to predict significant neonatal hyperbilirubinemia in healthy-term neonates.

Cord Blood Bilirubin as an Early Marker of Hyperbilirubinemia in Term and Late Preterm Newborns at 48 Hours of Life: A Prospective Cohort Study

Introduction: Jaundice is a common clinical condition present during the neonatal period, which can be either physiological or pathological. Early discharge of newborns is a common practice in our country due to medico-social and economic reasons, making post-discharge follow-up of infants challenging compared to developed countries. Aim: To determine the correlation between cord blood bilirubin levels and the occurrence of hyperbilirubinemia at 48 hours of life in newborns with a gestational age of ≥35 weeks. Materials and Methods: This cohort study was conducted in the Department of Pediatrics at Dr SMCSI Medical College, Karakonam, Trivandrum, Kerala, India, over a one-year period from June 2017 to June 2018. The exposure variables included the mother’s blood group, baby's blood group, mode of delivery, gestational age, gender, and weight of the baby. The outcome variables included cord blood and 48-hour serum total and direct bilirubin levels. The data was coded and entered into Microsoft Excel and analysed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 16.0. Descriptive measures were calculated, and the correlation between cord and 48- hour bilirubin levels was assessed using Pearson's correlation coefficient formula. Other statistical tests applied were chisquare test and independent t-test. Results: Total subjects of 500 (243 female and 257 were males) participants were included in the study.Among the 21 babies who underwent phototherapy, 11 were female and 10 were male, and 15 were full term and six were late preterm for their gestational age . Of the 21 babies needing phototherapy, 15 were delivered by normal vaginal delivery, and six were delivered by LSCS. Correlation between cord blood bilirubin and serum bilirubin at 48hr is 0.477 with a p-value <0.001; which indicates mild correlation between the cord blood Total Bilirubin (TB)and serum TB. A cord TB value of 1.45 mg/dL had a sensitivity of 95.2% and specificity of 32.5%. A value of 1.55 mg/dL had a sensitivity of 90.5% and specificity of 40.9%. A cord TB value of 1.65 mg/dL had a sensitivity of 66.7% and specificity of 53.9%. These findings suggest that cord bilirubin levels can be used to predict which babies require further evaluation and treatment. Conclusions: Cord blood serum bilirubin can serve as a useful screening test for predicting neonatal hyperbilirubinemia and ensuring safe post-natal hospital discharge.

Cord Bilirubin Value as a Predictor of Significant Hyperbilirubinemia in Abo Incompatiblity

Background: Hyperbilirubinemia is a condition in which the blood contains too much bilirubin and producing jaundice (yellow coloring of the eyes and skin). Low bilirubin levels in newborns are common and do not pose any problems; they will resolve on their own within the first week of life. Studying the cord bilirubin levels in new born babies is significant to predict the risk of abo incompatiblity.
 Methods: A total of 129 babies born to O blood group mother were included in the study. Out of which 111 babies were with risk of ABO incompatibility. Among them 17 babies developed pathological hyperbilirubinemia. None of the 0 positive babies developed pathological hyperbilirubinemia.
 Results: The peak bilirubin level was attained on 3rd and 4th day for all the babies and was taken as the outcome measure and cord serum bilirubin was taken as the predictive factor. The incidence of pathological hyperbilirubinemia is 13.2%. The mode of delivery had no positive association with the development of pathological hyperbilirubinemia. Male babies had positive ociation for pathological hyperbilirubinemia without any statistical significance. Incidence of pathological hyperbilirubinemia is higher in babies with a birth weight of <3 kg.
 Conclusion: A cord bilirubin value of 2.65 mg/dL can be used as a cut off for predicting pathological hyperbilirubinemia. Infants with bilirubin level more than the cutoff values were subjected to early intervention with complete recovery. None of the babies had developed encephalopathy and its sequelae.

To Study the Predictive Value of Umbilical Cord Blood Bilirubin Levels Term Neonates as Marker of Neonatal Hyperbilirubinemia

Background: Infants who are clinically jaundiced in the first few days are more likely to develop hyperbilirubinemia. Hyperbilirubinemia is the most common medical problem in newborn infants. It is the most important cause for hospital readmissions during the early neonatal period and also the cause for neonatal morbidity. Objective: In this prospective study we are going to evaluate the predictive value of cord bilirubin level for identifying term neonates for subsequent hyperbilirubinemia. Materials and Methods: Cord bilirubin levels at birth and subsequently serum bilirubin levels at 72 h were assessed in 291 neonates. The cutoff value was estimated beyond which there was significant hyperbilirubinemia. Statistics employed include quantitative data which is expressed in terms of mean and SD and qualitative in terms of proportions and receiver operator characteristic curve used to find cut-off value and to find sensitivity and specificity. Results: The cutoff value of cord bilirubin >2 mg/dl had sensitivity and specificity of 77.97 and 56.90%, respectively, with positive predictive value of 31.51 and negative predictive value of 91.03% for subsequent hyperbilirubinemia. Conclusion: To decreases the significant burden of untreated severe neonatal jaundice, cord serum bilirubin can be used as a screening tool to identify the neonatal jaundice in term and this prediction of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia has widespread implication especially in our country where there are limited resources. Keywords: Hyperbilirubinemia, Neonatal morbidity, cord serum bilirubin.

Umbilical cord albumin and serum bilirubin as predictive factors for hyperbilirubinemia in term neonates

Background: Hyperbilirubinemia is one of the common causes of neonatal admission. As clinical evaluation may cause a delay in identification and subsequent initiation of medical therapy, there is a need for the sensitive and inexpensive predictive marker for hyperbilirubinemia in neonates. Measurement of cord albumin and its correlation with the serum bilirubin is one of the noninvasive predictive markers for Hyperbilirubinemia. The present study carried out to know the significance of umbilical cord albumin level as a predictor of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia.Methods: It is a hospital-based prospective cohort study, total 100 healthy term new-borns admitted in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, were included in the study as per study protocol over a period of one year. The blood sample was collected from umbilical cord blood for the analysis of bilirubin and albumin, and post 72 hours of life venous blood obtained for estimation of serum bilirubin and albumin along with direct and indirect Coombs test.Results: In this study most of the patients were in the gestational age of 37-38 weeks (71%) followed by 38-40 weeks (27%) and only 1% are >40 weeks. A positive correlation was observed between cord blood bilirubin, serum bilirubin, serum albumin, and cord blood albumin levels. Cord blood albumin was a better marker for neonatal hyperbilirubinemia with a sensitivity of 83%, and a specificity of 48%; as compared to cord blood bilirubin with a sensitivity and specificity of 73% and 39% respectively.Conclusions: From this study, cord blood albumin level was demonstrated as a good predictive marker for neonatal hyperbilirubinemia with a sensitivity of 83.1%. and specificity 48.8%. Hence, cord blood albumin may be used as a non-invasive predictor for neonatal hyperbilirubinemia.

Are Cord Blood Bilirubin Values Trustable to Predict the Forthcoming Significant Hyperbilirubinemia Requiring Treatment in Healthy Term Newborns?

Background: Jaundice is a clinical condition that is often observed in pediatric practice and constitutes one of the major issues within the neonatal period. As severe jaundice causes neurotoxicity(kernicterus), the diagnosis and treatment of severe hyperbilirubinemia is very important. Early prediction will help in early discharge and will prevent hospitalization of babies and mothers. On the other hand, predicting outcome in high risk neonates for subsequent hyperbilirubinemia is required.Objectives: This study investigates the predictive value of umbilical cord serum bilirubin (UCSB) for subsequent hyperbilirubinemia which is a required treatment in healthy term newborns.Methods: In this prospective study, 238 healthy term newborns were inducted into the study. Soon after delivery, the cord blood was sent for serum bilirubin analysis. Newborns were followed up by TCB (transcutaneous bilirubinometry) until the third day post birth and those who showed significantly high TCB values, according to the hour-specific normogram, received the appropriate intervention and treatment. The data were analyzed using t-Test, ROC (receiver operating characteristic) curve, and chi-square tests.Results: Of 238 newborns, 27 (11.4%) cases developed hyperbilirubinemia (bilirubin >= 15 mg/dL), which required phototherapy. There were no significant differences between the cases who did and who did not develop hyperbilirubinemia (bilirubin = 2.25 mg/dl had high sensitivity (92.6%), good positive and negative predictive value (66% and 69% respectively).Conclusions: UCSB level >= 2.25 mg/dL can be a useful predictor of hyperbilirubinemia in healthy term newborns on the third day. Therefore, infants with UCSB level >= 2.25 mg/dL should be followed up strictly either in a hospital or in an outpatient department on the third day, whereas neonates with cord bilirubin level < 2.25 mg/dL are probably safe for early discharge.

Correlation of cord blood bilirubin values with neonatal jaundice in healthy newborns: A prospective observational study

Background and Objective: Hyperbilirubinemia is the most common clinical condition requiring evaluation and treatment in the newborn and a frequent reason for hospital readmission during the 1st week of life. Although generally a benign, postnatal, transitional phenomenon, a few neonates develop marked potentially hazardous bilirubin levels that can pose a direct threat of serious brain injury. The present study was conducted to investigate the predictability of pathological jaundice on cord blood bilirubin (CBB) values. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective observational study conducted on 289 healthy newborns. Babies were divided into two groups: Group A who developed physiological jaundice and Group B who developed pathological jaundice. CBB was estimated in all newborns who were then followed up to the 5th day of life. Babies who developed jaundice requiring treatment were admitted in neonatal intensive care unit for phototherapy. Other neonates were checked regularly up to the 5th day of life and values were recorded on the 5th day by estimation of serum bilirubin. Results: Incidence of pathological hyperbilirubinemia in our study was 11.2%. A statistically significant correlation between CBB and development of pathological jaundice was observed. Gender, age, mode of delivery, and birth weight has no correlation with cord bilirubin and the subsequent development of jaundice. CBB 3.5 mg/dl has high sensitivity (97.06%), specificity (99.22%), positive predictive value (94.29%), and negative predictive value (99.61%) in predicting future development of future pathological jaundice. Conclusion: The present study suggests that in healthy term babies (CBB ≤2.5 mg/dl), cord serum bilirubin can help to identify those newborns who are unlikely to require further evaluation and intervention. These newborns can be discharged with assurance to parents. Babies with CBB level ≥3 mg/dl should be followed more frequently. Thus, this study concludes that cord blood total bilirubin levels reliably predict the occurrence of pathological hyperbilirubinemia.

Cord serum bilirubin as a predictor of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia in healthy term and late preterm neonates

Background: Icterus neonatorum is the most common neonatal illness occurring in the first 7 days of life. It is the most important cause for hospital readmissions during the early neonatal period and also the cause for neonatal morbidity. In this study our main objective is, to find out that whether detecting umbilical cord blood bilirubin levels soon after birth, will help to identify the development of significant jaundice in early neonatal period which requires immediate interventionMethods: This was a prospective observational study carried out among 150 term and preterm babies. Their cord bilirubin level were estimated. Jaundice was determined by using yellowish appearance of eyes, skin and Kramer score. Statistics employed include Chi-square test and receiver operator characteristic curveResults: Study participants enrolled into the study was 150. Cord serum bilirubin was significantly associated with Kramer score and yellowish discoloration of eyes and skin and not significantly associated with sex, mode of delivery, gestational age and birth weight. When cord serum bilirubin was compared against the occurrence of clinical jaundice, sensitivity was found to be 58.33%, specificity was 96.49% positive predictive value was 84% and negative predictive value was 88%. Receiver operator characteristics curve indicated that the area below the curve was 0.842.Conclusions: Cord serum bilirubin can be used as a screening tool to identify the neonatal jaundice in both term and late preterm babies. Present study has shown increased specificity than sensitivity which warrants further exploration.

Early predictors of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia in full term newborn

Reliable predictive markers enabling physicians to identify which newborns will develop significant hyperbilirubinemia have become mandatory for prevention of severe hyperbilirunemia. We aimed at determining the critical cord serum bilirubin and albumin levels and bilirubin/albumin ratio early as reliable markers. This prospective study included 175 full-term neonates. Measurement of cord bilirubin, albumin and bilirubin/albumin ratio was done to predict significant hyperbilirubinemia in healthy term newborns based on serum bilirubin measurements made within 5 days of life. Most cases that developed significant neonatal hyperbilirubinemia (67.9%) had cord albumin level≤2.8gm/dl. Cord Bilirubin/albumin ratio cut off value>0.61 had a good predictive value with a sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 88.4%, and cord serum albumin cut off value≤3.0mg/dl also had a good predictive value with a sensitivity of 85.7% and specificity of 67.3%. ROC curve analysis of cord total bilirubin demonstrated that a cut off value of ≥1.84mg/dl had a good predictive value with a sensitivity of 100.0% and specificity of 87.1%. Cord bilirubin/albumin ratio, serum bilirubin and albumin could be early predictors for neonatal hyperbilirubinemia.

Prognostic value of peripheral blood eosinophil count on first day of infancy in the incidence of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia

&lt;p class="abstract"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Background:&lt;/strong&gt; Neonatal jaundice is one of the most common problems in the neonatal period. Eosinophilia is common in preterm and term newborns, and it is considered when the absolute count of eosinophil is ≥500 cell/mm&lt;sup&gt;3&lt;/sup&gt;. It is thought that there was some relationship between hyperbilirubinemia and increasing of blood eosinophil count in newborns hospitalized by jaundice. The aim of this study was to determine the prognostic value of peripheral blood eosinophil count on first day of infancy in the incidence of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="abstract"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Methods:&lt;/strong&gt; 150 newborns with gestational ages of 35-40 weeks, born in Ardabil city hospital, were engaged in this study. After obtaining the parents' consent, getting patients biography and their physical examination, we got a blood sample from umbilical cord of newborns to measure differential count of white blood cells. The neonates were observed up to 28 day followed. Then, second blood test conducted for the purpose of measuring serum level of bilirubin. Data were analyzed by statistical methods in SPSS version 19. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="abstract"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Results:&lt;/strong&gt; Various group of age, sex, blood type and gestational age showed no significant difference in their eosinophil rate. Total serum bilirubin doesn't had a significant relationship with gestational age, sex, type of delivery and major or minor blood groups of neonates.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="abstract"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Conclusions:&lt;/strong&gt; Results showed that there was no significant relationship between the amount of eosinophil in newborn umbilical cord and total serum bilirubin. So, we could say that newborns eosinophil count isn’t a good criteria for predicating the appearance of neonate hyperbilirubinemia.&lt;/p&gt;

Role of cord blood bilirubin and albumin levels as predictors of subsequent hyperbilirubinemia in newborns

Introduction: Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia is one of the most common problems in term and preterm babies. Development of hyperbilirubinemia in neonates is fretful for the parents and a concern for the pediatrician too. Healthy babies born through normal vaginal delivery who are getting discharged early are being readmitted for the treatment of hyperbilirubinemia. Aim sand Objectives: The present study is done to determine the correlation of cord blood bilirubin, albumin and neonatal hyperbilirubinemia in identifying newborn babies at risk of developing significant hyperbilirubinemia and to establish the cutoff values of cord blood bilirubin and cord blood albumin levels to identify such high-risk neonates. Materials and Methods: In present study, 303 term neonates who are delivered in ASRAM, Eluru from January 2012-January 2013, were included after parental consent. Cord blood bilirubin, Blood grouping and typing, Cord blood albumin and serum bilirubin levels were done in all babies. Results: The incidence of significant hyperbilirubinemia in this study was 23.7%. Cord serum unconjugated bilirubin level ≥2.0 mg/dl and total cordserum bilirubin level ≥ 2.5mg/dl as high risk indicator towards predicting neonatal hyperbilirubinemia in first week of life. 58.53% babies had cord serum albumin level &lt; 2.8gm/dl. Conclusion: Cord serum unconjugated bilirubin level ≥2mg/dl and total cord serum bilirubin level ≥2.5mg/dl, cord blood albumin &lt;2.8g/dl is a high-risk indicator towards predicting neonatal hyperbilirubinemia in the first week of life.

Cord Serum Bilirubin Level in Predicting the Development of Significant Hyperbilirubinemia in Newborns with ABO Incompatibility

Introduction: Neonatal hyperbilirubinaemia is common problem which is benign in majority of neonates. Rh iso immune hemolytic disease as a cause of hyperbilirubinemia is becoming nearly nonexistent due to the use of prophylactic anti D. Hence Isoimmune hemolytic disease due to ABO incompatibility assumes significance as a cause of significant hyperbilirubinaemia. This study was conducted to determine the incidence of ABO incompatibility, ABO iso immune disease in new born, to determine critical cord serum bilirubin level to predict subsequent significant hyperbilirubinemia.Material and Methods: The study was done in neonatal ICU of a tertiary care hospital where 100 full term healthy newborns with B.W≥2500gm and gestational age ≥37 wk with blood group A, B, AB, born to mothers with O blood group without simultaneous Rh incompatibility at SGRDIMSR were included. Serum bilirubin was measured approximately at 12-24hrs, 36-48hrs, 60-72hrs. Results: Out 100 ABO incompatible newborns 33(33%) developed ABO isoimmune disease manifesting as significant hyperbilirubinaemia with any of the four total serum bilirubin levels exceeding threshold levels defined for phototherapy. TSB of ≥ 2.16mg/d1 from cord blood has a sensitivity of 100% specificity of 89.55%, NPV 100% and PPV of 82.50% to predict significant hyperbilirubinaemia. Conclusion: A critical cord S.bilirubin between 2.16 mg/d1 and 4.09mg/d1 will predict all newborns who will have significant hyperbilirubinaemia and can be used as a safe demarcator to decide time of discharge. Any therapeutic intervention if necessary can be started as early as possible.J Nepal Paediatr Soc 2015; 35(3): 231-236

Evaluation of the Predictive Value of Umbilical Cord Serum Bilirubin Level for the Development of Subsequent Hyperbilirubinemia in Term and Late-Preterm Neonates

Background: Considering the increasing rates of early hospital discharge and kernicterus in healthy full term newborns, timely identification of neonates at risk of severe hyperbilirubinemia is of great significance. The aim of this study was to investigate the predictive value of umbilical cord serum (UCS) bilirubin level for subsequent hyperbilirubinemia. Moreover, we compared the predictive value of UCS bilirubin with that of risk factor assessment and predischarge bilirubin level. Methods: In this prospective, cohort study, 450 healthy neonates born at the gestational age of ³ 35 weeks were included. UCS bilirubin concentration, direct Coombs test results, and blood group were determined in the newborns. Total serum bilirubin level was re-assessed before hospital discharge. The subjects were followed-up for 1-4 days after discharge and the total serum bilirubin level was measured in neonates with clinical jaundice. Results of the assessment of risk factors for hyperbilirubinemia were recorded. Results: In total, 319 newborns were followed-up within the study period. The mean UCS bilirubin level in non-icteric and icteric neonates was 2.35 and 2.49 mg/dl, respectively. No significant relationship was found between UCS bilirubin level and development of hyperbilirubinemia (P=0.30), whereas a significant correlation was detected between predischarge bilirubin level and development of jaundice (P=0.009). Gestational age, birth weight, history of jaundice in siblings, and mode of delivery were the clinical risk factors which showed a significant correlation with postnatal hyperbilirubinemia. Conclusion: Based on the findings, UCS bilirubin level could not predict subsequent hyperbilirubinemia. Therefore, the best predictive marker for neonatal jaundice is the assessment of clinical risk factors and predischarge bilirubin level.

Study of Correlation of Cord Blood Bilirubin with Neonatal Hyperbilirubinemia

&lt;strong&gt;Introduction&lt;/strong&gt;: Neonatal Hyperbilirubinemia (NH) is a universal problem affecting nearly 60% of term and 80% of preterm neonates during first week of life. Early discharge of healthy term newborns is a common practice because of medical, social and economic constraints. Insignificant number (6.5%) of babies, NH is a cause for readmission. The present study was conducted to correlate the Cord Blood Bilirubin (CBB) level with subsequent NH. &lt;strong&gt;Methods:&lt;/strong&gt; Study was performed at the Department of Pediatrics in a Medical College Hospital and Research Centre. Intramurally delivered, 113 Healthy full-term newborns during 1-year period were prospectively enrolled. CBB was estimated. Serum Bilirubin estimation was done at 48 hours and 5 day of age and later if required. &lt;strong&gt;Results:&lt;/strong&gt; Significant NH in our study is 3.5%. Mean total bilirubin on second postnatal day was 10.58 mg/dl and on fifth post natal day was 10.81 mg/dl. Using CBB level of ≥3 mg/dl as a cut-off, NH can be predicted with sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 98.17%, positive predictive value of 66.67% and negative predictive value of 100%. &lt;strong&gt;Conclusion:&lt;/strong&gt; A 100% Negative Predictive Value in the present study suggests that in Healthy Term babies (without RH and ABO incompatibility with Cord Blood Bilirubin ≤3mg/dl) cord serum bilirubin can help to identify those newborns who are unlikely to require further evaluation and intervention. These newborns can be discharged with assurance to Parents. Babies with CBB level ≥3mg/dl should be followed more frequently.

English

OBJECTIVE: 1. Comparing Cord Serum Albumin level (CSA) with Cord Serum Bilirubin (CSB) in predicting neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. 2. To know the sensitivity, specificity, Positive predictive value and negative predictive value of CSA and CSB in predicting neonatal jaundice in term neonates. METHOD: Prospective study was performed on 174 healthy term neonates. Relevant maternal history is collected. Cord blood was collected from the healthy term neonates at birth, CSA and CSB measured. Neonate was assessed clinically every day. Total Serum Bilirubin (TSB) and blood group were assessed in neonate during 72-96 hours of life. TSB value ≥17mg/dl is considered Neonatal Hyperbilirubinemia (NH) which requires intervention like phototherapy (PT) or Exchange transfusion (ExT). RESULT: Study cohort is grouped in Group 1, Group 2 and Group 3 based on Cord Serum Albumin level ≤2.8g/dl, 2.9-3.3g/dl and ≥3.4g/dl, respectively. Based on CSB, study cohort divided into neonates with CSB ≤ 2mg/dl and CSB ≥ 2.1mg/dl. Statistical analysis done for correlation of CSA and CSB with NH. Statistical significance is seen for both CSA and CSB. CONCLUSION: Both CSA and CSB are equally effective in predicting NH at birth. These study variables can be considered as neonatal screening tool for NH for term neonates.

Predictive value of umbilical cord blood bilirubin for postnatal hyperbilirubinaemia

The study investigated the predictive value of umbilical cord serum (UCS) bilirubin for the postnatal course of bilirubinaemia in healthy term and near-term newborns. Term appropriate-for-gestational-age (AGA; n=1100), small-for-gestational-age (SGA; n=163) and near-term infants (GA 34-36 wk; n=78) were included and separated according to their UCS bilirubin levels, starting from <20 (group 1), 20-<30 (2), 30-40 (3) and >40 (4) micromol/l. The newborns were followed for at least 5 postnatal days, and UCS bilirubin values were correlated with the development of hyperbilirubinaemia and phototherapy (PT) treatment. A clear relation between UCS bilirubin and the development of hyperbilirubinaemia was found in all three patient populations. None of the 75 AGA patients of group 1 developed postnatal bilirubin values above 300 micromol/l, whereas 0.3, 3.4 and 8.6% of the patients in groups 2-4, respectively, did so. The frequency of PT increased from 0% in group 1 up to 9.6% in group 4. For the prediction of further need of PT using a UCS bilirubin cut-off level of 30 micromol/l, we found a sensitivity of 90% and a negative predictive value of 99.1%, indicating that all patients with UCS bilirubin values below 30 micromol/l (443/1100 or 40.2%) were at a very low risk of developing dangerous hyperbilirubinaemia. Similar results were obtained in SGA children with a sensitivity of 94.1% and a negative predictive value of 98.6%. In comparison to term newborns, we generally found higher bilirubin values in preterms. A total of 6.4% of preterm children developed bilirubin values over 300 micromol/l, compared with 3% of term children, and 47.4% of preterms had to be treated with PT. Predicting the need of PT by using a UCS bilirubin cut-off level of 30 micromol/l revealed a sensitivity of 70.3% and a negative predictive value of 65.6%. These data suggest that UCS bilirubin is useful in predicting the postnatal bilirubin values in term and near-term newborns. We presume that the use of UCS bilirubin values may help detect infants at low risk for postnatal hyperbilirubinaemia and minimize an unnecessary prolongation of hospitalization.

Prediction of the development of neonatal jaundice by increased umbilical cord blood bilirubin.

Umbilical cord serum bilirubin concentration as a predictor of subsequent jaundice was studied in 291 newborns. It was possible to define subgroups of infants with significantly higher or lower risks of developing jaundice. If cord bilirubin was below 20 mumol/l, 2.9% became jaundiced as opposed to 85% if cord bilirubin was above 40 mumol/l. Furthermore, 57% of jaundiced infants with cord bilirubin above 40 mumol/l required phototherapy, but only 9% if cord bilirubin was 40 mumol/l or lower (p less than 0.003). Knowledge of infants at risk of developing jaundice allows simple bilirubin reducing methods to be implemented before jaundice is present and could influence a decision regarding early discharge from hospital. Since the ability of plasma to bind bilirubin in cord blood from jaundiced and non-jaundiced infants showed no significant differences, the increased cord bilirubin among infants who later became jaundiced is presumably caused by increased fetal bilirubin production or decreased removal of bilirubin from the fetal circulation.

PREDICTION OF THE SEVERITY OF ABO HAEMOLYTIC DISEASE OF THE NEWBORN BY CORD BLOOD TESTS

Seventy-one ABO incompatible (heterospecific) infants and 71 controls, who were free from other potential causes of jaundice, were studied to ascertain which cord blood tests reliably predict the severity of ABO haemolytic disease of the newborn (ABO HDN). The modified Direct Antiglobulin Test (spin DAGT) was positive in all infants who required treatment for haemolytic jaundice and only DAGT positive children showed evidence of impending haemolytic anaemia or compensated haemolysis in cord or capillary blood. Cord serum bilirubin concentration had some predictive value, particularly when the level exceeded 85 mumol/l, but it was a less reliable indicator and had greater value if used in association with the DAGT. The elution test, which is frequently used as a diagnostic tool in ABO HDN, had no predictive value and we felt that its putative value is due to overdiagnosis of ABO HDN in jaundiced heterospecific infants. We conclude that the spin DAGT, despite the weakness of the reaction, reliably identifies infants at risk from severe ABO HDN and is sufficiently sensitive to be used as a single screening test for the early detection of the disorder.