The role of maternal anti-A and anti-B antibody titers in predicting ABO hemolytic disease of the newborn

Abstract

A study has been conducted on 268 blood group O delivering mothers and their related blood group A and B newborn infants. It revealed that the capability of mothers to produce anti-A and anti-B antibodies did not differ significantly from each other (p > 0.05). Ninety four (35.1%) of the newborns developed potentional jaundice while the others did not. To predict the birth of a baby with potential jaundice, a maternal anti-A or anti-B antibody titer of ≥ 1/256 was considered to be the cut-off point with a sensitivity and specificity of 83.33% and 78.21% respectively and a positive predictive value of 79.27% and a negative predictive value of 17.57%. If the maternal anti-A or anti-B antibody titer was ≥ 1/256 the risk for giving birth of a baby with potential jaundice rose significantly 18 times compared to those with titers of < 1/256 (OR 18, 64; CI 95% = 6.18-56.18).