The Role of Serum Alpha-Fetoprotein on the Development of Prolonged Jaundice in Newborns

Background: Due to the polyethiology of neonatal jaundice it is necessary to investigate new markers to predict the development of this condition in newborns.

Objective: To determine the level of serum AFP on the development of prolonged jaundice in newborns.

Methods: The study group - 80 term newborns who were treated in the newborn pathology department. Group A included 45 newborns with duration of jaundice up to 1 month, 25 boys and 20 girls, group B - 40 newborns with duration of jaundice over than 1 month, 22 boys and 18 girls. The control group - 20 healthy newborns. Exclusion criteria: blood group incompatibilities, congenital anomalies. The average duration of jaundice was 18.8±0.8days in the group A, 28.2±0.7days in the group B,(p <0.05).
AFP measurements in serum were obtained using an AccuBind® ELISA Test System. The statistical processing was carried out using the software package Statistica 6.1.

Results: Relatively higher level of indirect bilirubin was in newborns in the group A in relation to newborns in the group B: 286.1±10.2μmolе/l and 240.1±12.3μmolе/l,(p<0.05).
Level of serum AFP was significantly higher in the group A and B than in the control group. Thus, in the group A, the AFP level was 677.1[472.7;783.7] ng/ml; in group B - 771.2[686.6;934.4] ng/ml, which significantly exceeded the value of AFP in the control group, 401.0[284.9;684.0] ng/ml(p <0.05). Were established the high sensitivity (83.0% - 86.0%) and specificity (60.0%) of the level of serum AFP in newborns with prolonged jaundice.

Conclusions: Analysis of the serum AFP content of newborns showed that this indicator was 1.7 times higher in newborns with prolonged jaundice up to 1 month and 1.9 times higher with prolongation of jaundice over than 1 month in relation to newborns in the control group, indicating the role of possible damage hepatocyte growth and/or their function.