Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase Deficiency and Neonatal Jaundice

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Abstract
Examinations were carried out on 1,327 unselected newborns in Bangkok for erythrocyte glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PD): 152 infants were found to be deficient. The incidence of otherwise unexplained severe jaundice was 5% in the group of hemizygous male and homozygous female infants, and approximately 2% in heterozygous female infants. No significant difference was found between the cord blood reticulocyte counts of infants with normal G-6-PD activity and G-6-PD deficient infants. Some aspects of the incidence and the pathogenesis of neonatal hyper-biliurbinaemia associated with G-6-PD deficiency are discussed.