# Prediction of hyper-bilirubinemia in healthy neonates using umbilical cord blood bilirubin

## TL;DR

The study explores using umbilical cord blood bilirubin levels to predict neonatal jaundice, helping identify high-risk infants early.

## Contribution

A non-invasive method using cord blood bilirubin to predict neonatal hyper-bilirubinemia is proposed and validated.

## Key findings

- Cord blood bilirubin levels correlated with 3rd day serum bilirubin levels in neonates.
- Umbilical cord bilirubin is a simple and economical predictor of hyper-bilirubinemia.
- The method helps in early discharge of normal neonates and monitoring high-risk infants.

## Abstract

Jaundice is a clinical condition characterized by transient deficiency of bilirubin conjugation, leading to neonatal
hyper-bilirubinemia. Therefore, it is of interest to assess cord blood bilirubin at birth as a predictor of neonatal hyper-bilirubinemia
needing phototherapy in full-term neonates. In 220 neonates with hyper-bilirubinemia needing phototherapy were assigned as cases and
without hyper-bilirubinemia as controls to assess association in serum total bilirubin and cord blood bilirubin were assessed after
identifying the cut-off level of cord blood bilirubin. The mean cord blood bilirubin level was 2.64 ± 0.63 and total serum bilirubin
estimated on 3rd day of life was 16.14 ± 1.4. 3rd day serum bilirubin and cord blood bilirubin were correlated positively with
the (r=0.087). Umbilical cord blood bilirubin estimation is a non-invasive, economical, and simple method of predicting subsequent
neonatal hyper-bilirubinemia that can help clinicians for early discharge of normal neonates and follow-up in high-risk infants.