Predictors of acute bilirubin encephalopathy among Nigerian term babies with moderate-to-severe hyperbilirubinaemia.

OBJECTIVE

To determine predictors of acute bilirubin encephalopathy (ABE) among term infants presenting with moderate-to-severe hyperbilirubinaemia.

METHODS

Babies with total serum bilirubin >15 mg/dl at the point of admission were studied in a Nigerian tertiary health facility using bivariate and multivariate analysis.

RESULTS

Out of 152 babies, 75 (49.3%) had ABE: 73 had ABE at presentation while two developed ABE after admission. Bivariate analysis showed that body weight <2.5 kg, outside delivery, low maternal education, low socio-economic status, severe anaemia, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency and metabolic acidosis were significantly associated with ABE. Multivariate analysis also showed that only outside delivery, weight <2.5 kg, presence of severe anaemia and acidosis were the predictors of ABE in this cohort of term babies.

CONCLUSION

The identified predictors of ABE are modifiable and can be used to draw up screening tools for term babies at risk of ABE especially in the developing world.