Incidence of G6PD deficiency among neonates with hyperbilirubinemia requiring phototherapy at postnatal wards of a tertiary care perinatal center, Dubai, UAE: A longitudinal cross-sectional study

Purpose : To investigate the incidence of glucose 6 phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency in neonates with hyperbilirubinemia requiring phototherapy. Methods : We conducted a longitudinal, cross-sectional, study that recruited all late preterm and term infants with hyperbilirubinemia who needed for phototherapy at postnatal wards of a tertiary care hospital in UAE through the period from April 2017 to January 2018. Neonates with an inborn error of metabolism, sepsis, or Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission were excluded. A non-probability consecutive sampling technique was employed to recruit eligible neonates. Results : The present study included 658 late preterm and term infants with hyperbilirubinemia. The majority of the neonates were females (51.4%) with a median (IQR) birth weight of 2846 (628) grams. Only 29 (4.4%) neonates had a positive family history of G6PD deficiency. Sixty-nine (10.5%) neonates had deficient G6PD activity. The association analysis showed that there were statistically significant associations between the presence of G6PD deficiency and the male gender (p <0.001), low birth weight (p <0.001), and positive family history of G6PD deficiency (p <0.001). Conclusion : In conclusion, the present study showed that about 10% of the neonates admitted for phototherapy had G6PD deficiency in postnatal wards of a tertiary care hospital UAE. This finding highlights the critical role testing for G6PD to all newborns who are receiving phototherapy, especially those with unknown etiology or poor response to phototherapy. Further long-term studies are still needed to confirm our findings.