Correlation Between Peak Serum Bilirubin During 1st Week of Life and Future Neurodevelopmental Outcome in Healthy Term Babies

Study was done to look for the future neurodevelopmental outcome of the babies with extremely high serum bilirubin level at 1st week of life. Fifty one term and near term babies were enrolled with features of acute bilirubin encephalopathy (ABE), with bilirubin level more than20mg/dl. They were followed up at 3rd and 6th month to observe their neurodevelopment. Neurological outcome was measured with Denver Development Screening Test (DDST-II) and brainstem evoked response audiometry (BERA). The mean peak total serum bilirubin (TSB) was 25.3±2.35(mg/dl). Abnormal developmental was found in 23.5% babies (12 out of 51) and abnormalities were more in the babies whose TSB was beyond 28mg/dl. Abnormal BERA was found among 13.7% babies. TSB value below 25 mg/dl can be considered as safe cut off value for reversibility of bilirubin induced acute brain damage.