Abstract:
Possible etiological factors associated with severe neonatal jaundice (total serum bilirubin > 20 mg/100 ml) were evaluated in 35 infants from Accra. ABO incompatibility (without serological evidence) was present in 14/35 infants; G 6 PD deficiency was present in 13/35 infants and in 10/35 of the infants no apparent cause for the hyperbilirubinemia was found. Clinical evidence for central nervous system involvement was present in 13 of the 35 infants on admission. Mortality as a result of kernicterus was 8.6%.