NEONATAL BILIRUBIN LEVELS LINKED TO LATER NEURODEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Background: Most babies have neonatal jaundice, a common illness that doesn't harm the brain. Serum bilirubin levels that
are higher than the bilirubin binding capacity cause ABE (acute bilirubin encephalopathy). Even after effective treatment,
brain damage reversibility from ABE is a worry.
Aim: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the first week of life's peak blood bilirubin and the
neurodevelopmental outcomes of healthy, full-term infants. Future neurodevelopmental outcomes in newborns with
exceptionally high blood bilirubin during the first week of life were also evaluated in this study.
Methods: 104 near-term and term infants with bilirubin levels greater than 20 mg/dl and characteristics of acute bilirubin
encephalopathy (ABE) were evaluated. The neurodevelopment of these subjects was evaluated at the third and sixth months.
BERA (brainstem evoked response audiometry) and DDST-II (Denver Development Screening Test) were used to evaluate
neurological outcomes