Utility of Jaundice Surveillance and Bilirubin Screening in Identifying Neonates Who Qualify for Phototherapy ≤24 Hours after Birth

Objective: To assess the utility of jaundice surveillance and routine 24 hour bilirubin screening in identifying neonates who qualify for phototherapy (PT) at ≤24 hours after birth.

Study design: In this retrospective, single-center observational study, records of neonates ≥35^0/7 weeks gestation born to O+, antibody negative mothers (n = 6098) were screened to identify who received PT at ≤24 hours after birth. The hour specific TSB at which neonates qualified for PT, blood type, direct antiglobulin test (DAT), and whether treatment was triggered by jaundice detection at <24 hours or the 24-hour bilirubin screen were determined.

Results: 59 neonates (1.0%) qualified for PT ≤ 24 hours after birth; 10 (17%) were identified by jaundice detection at <24 hours, whereas 49 (83%) were identified on 24-hour bilirubin screening. Forty-eight of the 59 (81%) were ABO incompatible and DAT+; 11 were DAT negative, one of whom had glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency. Among the ≤24 hour PT group, 17 had a PT qualifying TSB within 3 mg/dL of exchange transfusion (ET); 14 of whom were only identified first on 24-hour bilirubin screening. Six exceeded ET thresholds, 4 of whom were identified on 24-hour bilirubin screening.

Conclusions: Neonates who qualified for PT at ≤24 hours were identified mostly by 24-hour bilirubin screening, a fraction of whom had a TSB that approached or exceeded ET thresholds. Our findings support routine birth hospitalization bilirubin screening and suggest screening no later than 24 hours after birth may be beneficial.