Tehran University Medical Journal

Background: Hyperbilirubinemia is the most common cause for readmission in the early neonatal period 5 to 36 percent of healthy term infants who are discharged from hospital are again hospitalized due to severe to moderate hyperbilirubinemia. Detection of major and minor risk factors associated with neonatal jaundice helps to identify high-risk infants and prevent neonatal jaundice. This study was performed aiming to evaluate the major and minor risk factors associated with jaundice in infants hospitalized.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 2207 term infants (<15 days) with hyperbilirubinemia (>15 mg/dl) in neonatal clinic or emergency unit or neonatal intensive unit, of Mashhad Ghaem Hospital, Iran, from April 2010 to May 2016. The jaundice of infants was confirmed by the pediatrician and laboratory tests. Then the researcher-made questionnaire containing maternal information and neonatal characteristics was completed. Values were expressed as mean±SD. Student t-test and Mann-Whitney test were used as appropriate. P-value less than 0.05 was considered significant.

Results: Sixty one percent of neonates had major risk factors and 80% of neonates had minor risk factor for jaundice. For neonatal jaundice, the most common major risk factors were significant weight loss (27.5%), jaundice visible in the first 24 hours (16.3%), history of treatment with phototherapy and exchange transfusion in sibling (14.8%), Gestational age of 35 to 36 week (9.9%), ABO incompatibility (9.2%), RH incompatibility (3.3%) and G6PD deficiency (3.33%), and the most common minor risk factors were age over 25 years (51.4%), male (49.7%), history of hyperbilirubinemia in sibling (22.3%), diabetic mother's infants (1.5%).

Conclusion: The major risk factors for neonatal hyperbilirubinemia were significant weight loss, jaundice visible in the first 24 hours, history of treatment with phototherapy and exchange transfusion in sibling, gestational age of 35 to 36 week, ABO incompatibility, RH incompatibility and G6PD deficiency.