Pediatric outcome in Rhesus hemolytic disease treated with and without intrauterine transfusion.
OBJECTIVE
To study the short-term morbidity in Rhesus hemolytic disease of infants treated either with or without intrauterine transfusions (IUT).


METHODS
All term and near term infants (gestational age > or = 36 weeks) with neonatal Rhesus hemolytic disease admitted to our center between January 2000-March 2005 were retrospectively included in the study. We recorded the duration of phototherapy, the need of exchange transfusions, and the need of top-up red blood cell transfusions until 6 months of age.


RESULTS
A total of 89 infants were included, of whom 52 received at least one IUT. Duration of phototherapy in the IUT and no-IUT group was 3.8 and 5.1 days, respectively (P = .01). The percentage of infants requiring an exchange transfusion in the IUT group was 71% compared to 65% in the no-IUT group (P = .64). The percentage of infants requiring a top-up transfusion in the IUT and no-IUT group was 77% and 26.5%, respectively (P < .01).


CONCLUSIONS
Infants with Rhesus hemolytic disease treated with IUT required less days of phototherapy and more top-up red blood cell transfusions than neonates without IUT. However, the need for exchange transfusion was similar in both groups.
De Boer
Inge P
IP
Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Zeestraten
Eliane C M
EC
Lopriore
Enrico
E
van Kamp
Inge L
IL
Kanhai
Humphrey H H
HH
Walther
Frans J
FJ
D001724:Birth Weight; D001805:Blood Transfusion, Intrauterine / Q000379:methods*; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D017707:Erythrocyte Transfusion / Q000379:methods*; D005078:Exchange Transfusion, Whole Blood / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal; D010789:Phototherapy / Q000379:methods; D011247:Pregnancy; D011336:Probability; D012016:Reference Values; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012203:Rh Isoimmunization / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome