Validity of neonatal jaundice evaluation by primary health-care workers and physicians in Karachi, Pakistan
Document Type
Article
Department
Paediatrics and Child Health
Abstract
Objective: The Purpose of this study was to validate primary health-care workers' and physicians' visual assessment of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia in Karachi, Pakistan. Study Design: We compared primary health-care workers' and physicians' clinical identification of jaundice in infants = 15 mg per 100 ml (260 mu mol l(-1)) with 83.3% sensitivity and 50.5% specificity, neonates aged 1 to 6 days were identified with 76.2% sensitivity and 60.7% specificity. Physicians identified neonates aged 1 to 20 days with hyperbilirubimemia >= 15 mg per 100 ml (260 mmol l(-1)) with 51.4% sensitivity and 90.7% specificity, and neonates aged 1 to 6 days with 50% sensitivity and 88.5 % specificity. The primary health-care workers' and physicians' assessments showed fair interobserver agreement (k statistic 0.29). Conclusion: Primary health-care workers identified hyperbilirubinemic neonates with adequate sensitivity. With proper training and supervision, their assessment could improve the referral of hyperbilirubinemic neonates in low-resource settings in the developing world.
Publication (Name of Journal)
Journal of Perinatology
Recommended Citation
Hatzenbuehler, L.,
Zaidi, A.,
Sundar, S.,
Sultana, S.,
Abbasi, F.,
Rizvi, A.,
Darmstadt, G.
(2010). Validity of neonatal jaundice evaluation by primary health-care workers and physicians in Karachi, Pakistan. Journal of Perinatology, 30(9), 616-621.
Available at:
https://ecommons.aku.edu/pakistan_fhs_mc_women_childhealth_paediatr/152