NEONATAL JAUNDICE
Because of shorter hospital stays for newborns, severe jaundice, which can cause hearing loss and brain damage or kernicterus, is going unnoticed in some infants. Caused by excess bilirubin in the blood, jaundice may not develop until several days after birth.
About 60% of American newborns have jaundice, although many recover without treatment. But an accumulation of excess bilirubin is toxic to the brain.
Kernicterus was fairly common in the United States before phototherapy was developed to break down excess bilirubin in the bloodstream. By the mid-1980s, kernicterus was virtually eliminated. But today, with apparently healthy newborns being released from the hospital shortly after birth, some cases of severe jaundice aren't recognized and treated in time, with tragic consequences.
Health officials are considering various ways to counter this trend. One proposal is to require a blood test to measure bilirubin levels in all newboms. Advocacy groups are campaigning for routine jaundice checkups 2 days after babies leave the hospital. In addition, a promising drug called Stannsoporfin, which would limit bilirubin production in high-risk infants, is currently under study.
The American Academy of Pediatrics plans to release jaundice guidelines by the end of the year. For more information, visit their Web site at http-// www.aap.org.
Copyright Springhouse Corporation Nov 2003
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