Neonatal Jaundice in Ibadan: A study of cases seen in the Out-Patients Clinic.

Abstract

Summary: The results of a prospective study of the frequency, actiological factors, immediate prognosis and management of neonatal jaundice in Nigerian babies admitted into the Children's Emergency Room, University College Hospital, Ibadan, are reported. There were 195 cases during a six-month period. Jaundice was of late onset, and it occurred nearly twice as frequently in the male as in the female. In the female, jaundice was associated not only with the homozygous G-6-PD deficiency, but also with the heterozygous. G-6-PD deficiency, ABO incompatibility, low birthweight and infection were the main aetiological factors. Infection in association with G-6-PD occurred in 54 per cent of cases while in association with ABO incompatibility it occurred in 23 per cent of the babies. Thirty-two per cent of the cases were kernicteric on admission; 6.2 per cent of all the cases died within 24 hours of admission. The severity of the jaundice was directly proportional to the level of unconjugated bilirubin which, in turn, was related to the actiological factor(s), the most important of these being G-6-PD deficiency and infection.