BiliAid

Bilirubin is a yellow substance that is produced when old red blood cells are replaced. Newborn babies often develop transient elevation of bilirubin levels in the blood within days after birth. This hyperbilirubinemia turns the skin yellow but most commonly requires no treatment. In some babies, also in the absence of any disease, there is a more pronounced imbalance between bilirubin production and excretion, resulting in excessive bilirubin levels. Too high levels of bilirubin can cause brain dysfunction and even permanent brain damage. Therefore, prediction and early detection of infants at risk have high priority.

BiliAid provides professionals and parents with recommendations for when to determine the first bilirubin in newborn babies, how to interpret the test-result, and what to do next. In the first step, the risk for the newborn infant to develop hyperbilirubinemia in need of treatment the first week after birth is assessed. Based on a set of 10 easily available maternal, obstetric and neonatal risk factors, BiliAid can momentarily provide an individualized estimate of risk for severe hyperbilirubinemia (as low, moderate, high or very high risk) in coming days, and a recommendation for when to measure the first bilirubin value. In a second step, the bilirubin value is interpreted in light of the baby´s gestational age in weeks and postnatal age in hours. This interpretation includes a recommendation for follow-up and if treatment is indicated.

BiliAid is intended to be used primarily as a decision aid for health care professionals. The information provided by the app can never replace a doctor or other qualified health professional. Bilirubin levels should ALWAYS be assessed by a doctor or other qualified health professional.

BiliAid was developed by Jaisy Sthlm AB for the Swedish Neonatal Quality Register (ww.snq.se) in collaboration with the Swedish Neonatal Society and with funding support from the Swedish Patient Insurance and Region Stockholm.