TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Neonatal Jaundice and Hemolytic Disease of the Newborn A1 - Kaplan, Michael A1 - Bromiker, Ruben A1 - Hammerman, Cathy A2 - Stevenson, David K. A2 - Cohen, Ronald S. A2 - Sunshine, Philip PY - 2015 T2 - Neonatology: Clinical Practice and Procedures AB - Neonatal jaundice, implying a yellow color of the skin and mucous membranes due to bilirubin deposition, occurs in about 60% of infants and even more often in those exclusively breast feeding. In most cases, the jaundice will be mild or moderate, and the total serum bilirubin (TSB) will not endanger the newborn infant. Occasionally, the TSB may increase to potentially dangerous levels and require treatment with phototherapy or rarely exchange transfusion to offset any further increase. Rarely, the TSB may rise to hazardous levels, at which bilirubin may cross the blood-brain barrier and enter the brain cells. The result will be the complication of acute bilirubin encephalopathy (ABE), in many cases with the devastating chronic sequela of choreoathetotic cerebral palsy known as kernicterus, or death. Despite attempts to eliminate this condition, kernicterus, although a rare condition, is still with us and accompanies us into the third millennium. Many cases should be preventable. Because the implications for affected individuals are lifelong, the public health aspects are necessarily of major importance. Understanding of the metabolism of bilirubin and the pathophysiology of hyperbilirubinemia are crucial to the prevention of this condition, as discussed in this chapter. SN - PB - McGraw-Hill Education CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/03/29 UR - accesspediatrics.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1109793758 ER -