Journal of Blood Disorders & Transfusion

Abstract

Cord Blood Albumin Level as a Predictor of Neonatal Jaundice: A Prospective Observational Study

Teena Nagar*, Rakesh Sharma, Kapoor Chand Meena and Rajendra Prasad Nagar

Introduction: Neonatal jaundice is one of the most common conditions requiring medical attention in newborn babies. Early prediction and identification of severe neonatal jaundice for that age and appropriate treatment are must to prevent kernicterus, avoidance of aggressive management, maternal anxiety, and unnecessary expenditure and to reduce the duration of hospital stay.

Aims and objectives: To study the association between various levels of cord blood albumin and significant neonatal hyperbilirubinemia requiring interventions.

Material and methods: It was a prospective observational study and 404 single live born healthy neonates delivered normal or by cesarean section in hospital were included over a period of one year. Statistical analysis was done by SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Science) software (20.0 trial version).

Results: Out of the total 404 neonates enrolled, 35 (8.7%) developed Neonatal Hyperbilirubinemia (NNH) and all received phototherapy. No one had exchange transfusion. Males to female ratio were 1:1.3. Cord serum albumin level of less than 2.8 gm/dL has a correlation with incidence of significant hyperbilirubinemia in term new-borns (P value is <0.0001). The sensitivity and specificity of cord albumin in detecting neonatal hyperbilirubinemia was determined to be 91.43% and 82.38% respectively. The positive and negative predictive value of cord albumin in detecting neonatal hyperbilirubinemia was determined to be 99.02% and 83.17% respectively.

Conclusion: Serum albumin level can be used as risk indicator to predict the development of significant hyperbilirubinemia. Thereby reducing the chance of kernicterus, being less invasive, easy to perform, and cost effective, cord serum albumin screening in NNH is very economical.

Published Date: 2021-12-24; Received Date: 2021-12-03