Cord blood albumin, a tool as predictor of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia requiring intervention

Objective: To find out the clinical significance of cord blood albumin level as predictor of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia (NBH) that requires intervention. Methods: Prospective observational study of 100 newborns of age 1-7 days delivered at Silchar Medical College, Assam, India from July 2018 to June 2019. Cord blood for albumin (CBA) and venous blood for total serum bilirubin (TSB) were collected and tested. Co-relation of CBA and TSB that required intervention was done. Results: CBA≤ 2.8 g/dl is a high risk factor for significant NHB (p = 0.0005) requiring early intervention. 58.3% and 16.7% of study population having CBA< 2.8 g/dl required phototherapy and exchange blood transfusion respectively as the mode of intervention for NHB. A cut off level of CBA 3.05 g/dl has a sensitivity of 85.7%, specificity of 90.7%, PPV of 60%, NPV of 97.50% and accuracy of 88.21% in predicting NHB requiring intervention. Conclusion: CBA≤ 2.8 g/dl is a significant risk factor developing NHB that requires early intervention and CBA> 3.3 g/dl is probably safe for early discharge of newborns.

Abstract licence: CC BY-NC-SA

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