Neurodevelopmental outcome at 1 year in Zimbabwean neonates with extreme hyperbilirubinaemia

The study concentrates on estimating the magnitude of the effect of a single risk factor, maximum total serum bilirubin (TSB) in excess of 400 μmol/l (23.4 mg/dl), on the neurodevelopmental outcome of 50, singleton, Zimbabwean neonates at 1 year of age. At 1 year corrected age the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID) was administered. Two infants died and five were lost to follow up. TSB was neither associated with birth weight nor with gestational age. Of 43 infants with a TSB >400 μmol/l (23.4 mg/dl),11(26%) scored abnormal on the BSID at 1 year of age and 5 (12%) infants developed the choreo-athetoid type of cerebral palsy.