RESUMO
The present study was undertaken to estimate the predictive value of antibody titration, antibody quantitation and monocyte monolayer assay (MMA) in assessment of severity of haemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN). Serum samples from 45 alloimmunized mothers, with anti-D(23), anti-c(10), anti-K(6), anti-E(5) and anti-e(1) were taken for the study. The results obtained were compared and the efficiency of each technique in predicting the severity of HDN was assessed. Antibody quantitation and MMA (phagocytic index) correlated well with severity of HDN in mothers with anti-D antibodies. Antibody quantitation (anti-D) had a positive predictive value of 54.5 per cent and negative predictive value of 85.7 per cent while MMA had a positive predictive value of 75 per cent and a negative predictive value of 100 per cent. These findings suggest MMA to be a good negative predictor of HDN but not a good positive predictor of haemolytic disease of the newborn.