a pilot study on the rate of hemoglobinopathies in hyperbilirubinemic term neonates at nemazee hospital shiraz, iran

introduction: neonatal hyperbilirubinemia is a common disorder and if untreated is potentially neurotoxic. methods: in order to investigate the correlation between hyperbilirubinemia and hemoglobinopathies, in a prospective study we studied a total 100 full term neonates at nemazi hospital with total bilirubin greater than 15 mg/dl and direct bilirubin less than 1.5mg/dl. other known causes of hyperbilirubinemia such as g6pd deficiency and blood group incompatibility, septicemia and common metabolic disorders were excluded and then hemoglobin electrophoresis was done. results: in this study we found two infants with abnormal hbd (2%). none of them had alpha thalassemia or sickle cell anemia. conclusion: hemoglobinopathies can be considered as one of the causes of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. further studies are recommended on a larger scale in the form of multi center study.