G6PD Enzyme Deficiency in Neonatal Pathologic Hyperbilirubinemia in Yazd

BACKGROUND: About 7.5% of the world population carries one or two deficient copy of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) genes. According to WHO, its prevalence in Iran is 10 to 14.9%. This study aimed on determination of frequency of G6PD deficiency in neonates with jaundice who were hospitalized during 6 months (September 2008 to February 2009) in the city of Yazd, Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, 105 icteric neonates in the hospitals of Yazd were evaluated. Data was collected from hospital records, and the G6PD activity was measured by photometric biochemical assay. Statistical analysis of data was performed by the SPSS-16 software, using Student's t-test and Pearson's chi-squared test. RESULTS: Between all of studied neonates, 19 (18.1%) had G6PD deficiency, and consisted of 15 boys (29.4% of boys) and 4 girls (7.4% of girls). In 100% of cases, the jaundice began in the first week after birth. The average total serum bilirubin at hospitalization was 17.22 mg/dL. In 31.5% of the G6PD-defficient neonates, exchange transfusion became necessary, which is significantly more than the rate in G6PD-sufficient (4.6%) neonates (P-value<0.05). CONCLUSION: In general, the frequency of G6PD deficiency in this study seems quite high. Regarding its severity and frequent need for exchange transfusion, we recommend that all of the icteric neonates should be evaluated for G6PD activity. Also, it is better to test for G6PD deficiency in all of the neonates, to detect its presence and to prevent its complications such as favism and oxidant drug-induced hemolysis, since the test has a low cost.