Correlation of serum bilirubin with quantitative electroencephalographic parameters in neonatal infants

Objective To determine the effect of serum bilirubin level on the parameters of quantitative electroencephalogram (qEEG) in neonates and investigate their correlation. Methods Clinical data of the neonatal infants (with a gestational age of 35~42 weeks) admitted to the Department of Neonatology, the Third Xiangya Hospital from January to December 2019 were collected and analyzed. According to the serum level of total serum bilirubin (TSB) in 24 h before qEEG, the children were divided into group A (< 221 μmol/L), group B (221 ~342 μmol/L) and group C (≥342 μmol/L). The changes in qEEG parameters were compared among the 3 groups, and the correlation of the TSB level with the qEEG parameters were analyzed. Results There were 104 neonatal infants enrolled, including 56 in group A, 24 in group B, and 24 in group C. In the frontal region, there were no statistical differences in the total spectral power, spectral edge frequency (SEF), absolute power of frequency bands and relative power of frequency bands in the 3 groups. But the total spectral power in group C was significantly higher than that in the other 2 groups (P < 0.05). In the temporal region and occipital region, SEF differed significantly among the 3 groups (P < 0.05), and the SEF in group C was significantly lower than that in the other 2 groups (P < 0.05). SEFs were negatively correlated with TSB in the frontal region, temporal region, and occipital region (P < 0.05). Conclusion In neonates, serum TSB level is correlated with SEF of qEEG, SEF might become an important indicator to monitor the effect of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia on brain function.