Description:
<jats:p>Objective Direct Coombs test (DCT) is a screening process to detect antibodies which are produced against the antigens in the red blood cells of newborns and cause hemolytic disease. In our study, we aimed to compare the demographic data and early period outcomes of the newborns with and without DCT positivity. Methods The data of all newborns who were born in our hospital between January 2019 and September 2019, of whose mothers gave informed consent before the labor and whose cord blood samples were examined were reviewed retrospectively. The data were analyzed by using SPPS 25 (IBM Corp. Released 2017; IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 25.0; IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) statistics software. Results A total of 302 newborns were included in the study. The results of Direct Coombs test were positive in 27 cases. The phototherapy rate of the cases with positive DCT results was 74% (20/27). It was found that the cases with positive DCT results underwent more phototherapy, started to undergo phototherapy earlier, were hospitalized longer and had lower serum total bilirubin levels compared to the cases with negative DCT results, and these differences were statistically significant (p=0.003, p=0.015, p=0.038 and p=0.026, respectively). Conclusion Today, there is no specific method to prevent jaundice particularly for the newborns with a risk factor. The only thing to do for newborns at this point is to detect if they have risk factors or not, and to follow up newborns with risk factors appropriately. Direct Coombs test has still been playing an important role to predict hemolytic anemia and potential manifestation of hyperbilirubinemia in association with hemolytic anemia in the newborns, and to initiate treatment process as soon as possible.</jats:p>