Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia due to ABO incompatibility: does blood group matter?

Newborn infants with maternal-fetal ABO incompatibility are at a greater risk for developing subsequent significant hyperbilirubinemia, and therefore, prediction of probable risk factors, such as the degree of hemolysis, gains importance. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of fetal-neonatal blood group on the severity of hemolysis and jaundice due to maternal-fetal ABO incompatibility. In a retrospective analysis of 166 cases with ABO hemolytic disease of the newborn, risk factors for the severity of jaundice were compared in infants with blood group A or B. Both groups had similar demographic parameters such as birth weight, gender and day of admission. Similarly, there were no statistically significant differences in hematological parameters, such as initial hemoglobin levels, initial and final indirect bilirubin levels, frequency of positive direct Coombs test and hemolytic findings on peripheral blood smear, duration of phototherapy, number of exchange transfusions, and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy (p>0.05). We conclude that blood type has no effect on the severity of the hemolytic jaundice in ABO incompatibility.