Hyperbilirubinemia in Neonates: Prevention, Early Identification, and Treatment

摘要

Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia can have serious consequences, including bililrubin encephalopathy and ker-nicterus.1 Bilirubin encephalopathy can be reversed, whereas kernicterus is permanent. Elevated levels of bilirubin lead to the accumulation of unconjugated bilirubin within the brain, which can result in encephalopathy. The consequences of encephalopathy include disability due to deafness, gaze paresis, decreased intelligence, and choreoathetoid cerebral palsy, and rarely, death.A newborn produces up to 10 mg/kg/day of bilirubin, most of which is created from the destruction of hemoglobin from red blood cells.