Natural history of early neonatal bilirubinemia: a global perspective

Due to selection bias and other issues, the only available serum bilirubin-based nomogram does not reflect the natural history of early neonatal bilirubinemia. Our objective was to obtain a global picture of the natural history of early post-natal bilirubin trajectories.

We pooled readings from 19 published transcutaneous bilirubin nomogram reports including many newborns at multiple sites. We constructed a universal transcutaneous bilirubin nomogram which included the 25th, 50th, 75th, and 95th percentiles from 12 to 120 h.

The global transcutaneous bilirubin nomogram included >119,000 readings from 44,392 apparently normal, predominantly breastfed newborns ≥35 weeks gestation. The pooled transcutaneous bilirubin trajectories increased during the first 3 post-natal days, and peaked or plateaued between the 3rd and 4th days.

We provide the first globally derived transcutaneous bilirubin nomogram that reflects the natural history of early neonatal bilirubinemia in neonates ≥35 weeks gestation.