Role of hemolysis in neonatal jaundice associated with glucose-6 phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency.

End-tidal carbon monoxide was measured in 108 newborn infants who had been screened for glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency. The mean +/- SD end-tidal carbon monoxide did not differ significantly between the G6PD-deficient and the normal neonates, 2.1 +/- 0.6 microliters/L and 2.0 +/- 0.5 microliters/L, respectively, within 12 hours of birth and 1.9 +/- 1.4 microliters/L and 1.5 +/- 0.7 microliters/L, respectively, at 48 to 72 hours after birth. On the basis of these measurements, hemolysis is not a sufficient explanation for jaundice in G6PD-deficient newborn infants in the transitional period.