Editorials

Preventing RhD haemolytic disease of the newborn

In 1994 we saw the 25th anniversary year of the worldwide introduction of anti-rhesus (D) immunoglobulin prophylaxis, one of the most successful prophylactic programmes in medical history. In 1977, 110 cases of stillbirth or neonatal death due to RhD haemolytic disease were registered in Britain; by 1992, this figure seemed to have dropped to nine cases.¹ In this issue of the BMJ, however, Whitfield and colleagues show that this is a serious underestimation (p 1504).² Extrapolation of their Scottish figures suggests that there are 50 deaths a year due to RhD haemolytic disease in Britain. They conclude that the discrepancy is due to underreporting because deaths due to early abortion (before 24 weeks) and late neonatal death (second to fourth week of life) are not included in official figures.

The policy introduced in 1969 was to give anti-D immunoglobulin to RhD negative women only after the birth of a . . . [Full text of this article]

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Relevant Articles

Preventing RhD haemolytic disease of the newborn

Douglas Lee, J S Craig, B G McClure, and T R J Tubman
BMJ 1998 316: 1611. [Extract] [Full Text]

Preventing RhD haemolytic disease of the newborn

Robert Fox, Iain R McFadyen, Vanessa J Martlew, Helen L Howard, Cyril A Clarke, Arabinda Saha, Christopher Everett, and Julie Wray
BMJ 1998 316: 1164. [Extract] [Full Text]

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Brown, R. (1999). Trauma in pregnancy. Trauma 1: 245-253 [Abstract]  
• van Dijk, B. (1998). Single dose of anti-D immunoglobulin for antenatal prophylaxis is smaller in the Netherlands than in the United Kingdom. BMJ 317: 1253a-1253 [Full text]  
• Lee, D., Craig, J S, McClure, B G, Tubman, T R J (1998). Preventing RhD haemolytic disease of the newborn. BMJ 316: 1611-1611 [Full text]  
• Fox, R., McFadyen, I. R, Martlew, V. J, Howard, H. L, Clarke, C. A, Saha, A., Everett, C., Wray, J. (1998). Preventing RhD haemolytic disease of the newborn. BMJ 316: 1164b-1164 [Full text]