Table 1 Terminologies and definitions adopted in this paper

Clinically significant hyperbilirubinaemia

Significant hyperbilirubinaemia: any unconjugated bilirubin level requiring treatment with phototherapy which varies with post-natal age and aetiology (typically TSB ≥12 mg/dL (205 μmol/L) in many LMICs).

Severe hyperbilirubinaemia: Bilirubin levels at/near exchange transfusion levels based on post-natal age and aetiology (typically TSB ≥20 mg/dL or 342 μmol/L in many LMICs) and/or any elevated TSB associated with signs of acute bilirubin encephalopathy.

Bilirubin encephalopathy: abnormal neurological signs and symptoms caused by bilirubin toxicity to the basal ganglia and various brainstem nuclei.

Acute bilirubin encephalopathy (ABE): acute manifestations of bilirubin toxicity seen within fourteen days after birth. Classic early signs include poor feeding, lethargy and tone abnormalities progressing to high-pitched cry, increasing hypertonia - especially of extensor muscles, with retrocollis, opisthotonus and obtundation in association with the kernicteric facies.

Kernicterus: Permanent or chronic neurologic damage, including choreo-athetoid cerebral palsy, enamel dysplasia, paralysis of upward gaze, hearing impairments including auditory neuropathy spectrum disorders.

Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)

The target population for this review consists of the 91 countries with per capita Gross National Income (GNI) of ≤ US$6,000 using the Human Development Report 2013 by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) as there is no single definition of “resource-poor countries” in the literature and developmental status varies greatly among the approximately 140 countries classified as LMICs by the World Bank [17]. (see Additional file 2: Table S2)

Levels of health care delivery

Three levels of healthcare delivery were considered: primary, secondary and tertiary. Typically, the primary level consists of community health centres and outposts managed by community health workers. Secondary/first-level referral centres include district or general hospitals while the tertiary level consists of specialist or teaching hospitals.