Abstract
This study assessed the prevalence of iron overload in infants born to Rh isoimmunized mothers. Infants born to Rh isoimmunized mothers with Indirect Coomb's Test (ICT) titers ≥1:16 were prospectively enrolled and followed until 3 mo. Hemoglobin and serum ferritin were estimated at birth and 3 mo of age. The outcomes were the incidence of iron overload (at birth and 3 mo), anemia, and the need for transfusions in the first 3 mo. Seventy-four infants were enrolled, nearly half receiving intrauterine transfusion (IUT). Sixty (82.2%) had hyperferritinemia at birth. The median (1st, 3rd quartile) ferritin levels were 456 (321, 631) μg/L. Infants who received IUTs had significantly higher serum ferritin levels at birth. Fifty-one (76.1%) infants had hyperferritinemia at 3 mo. Over three months of follow-up, 53 (71.6%) infants had anemia, of which 33 (48.5%) required packed red blood cells (PRBC) transfusion. These findings suggest that iron overload is common in these infants in the first 3 mo.
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SB: Study design, data collection, analysis, and manuscript review; JK: Conceived the idea, wrote the protocol, supervised data collection, analyzed the data, and wrote the first draft of the manuscript; PB, SCS, AJ, PK: Conceived the idea, supervised data collection, and critically reviewed the manuscript; PPM: Data collection, synthesis, analysis, and manuscript review. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript and are accountable for all aspects. PK will be the guarantor for the manuscript.
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Bayye, S., Kumar, J., Bhatia, P. et al. Iron Overload and Anemia in Rhesus Hemolytic Disease of Newborn: A Prospective Observational Study. Indian J Pediatr (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12098-023-04962-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12098-023-04962-6