RT Book, Section
A1 Loudermilk, M. Katherine
A2 Zaoutis, Lisa B.
A2 Chiang, Vincent W.
SR Print(0)
ID 1146121271
T1 Neonatal Hyperbilirubinemia
T2 Comprehensive Pediatric Hospital Medicine, 2e
YR 2017
FD 2017
PB McGraw-Hill Education
PP New York, NY
SN 9780071829281
LK accesspediatrics.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1146121271
RD 2024/04/23
AB Kernicterus,  or  chronic  bilirubin  encephalopathy,  is  a  permanent  and  devastating  condition  associated  with  significant  mortality,  morbidity,  and  intellectual  disability.  The  risk  for  development  of  kernicterus  in  otherwise  healthy  newborns  is  increased  with  severe  neonatal  hyperbilirubinemia,  or  total  serum  bilirubin  values  >20  mg/dL.1  A  systematic  approach  to  the  detection  and  management  of  hyperbilirubinemia  in  newborns  is  therefore  critical  for  prevention.  While  kernicterus  in  the  United  States  is  a  rare  condition,  with  an  estimated  incidence  of  1.5  per  100,000  full-term  newborns,  the  diagnosis  of  hyperbilirubinemia  is  far  more  common,  affecting  over  15%  of  full-term  infants  and  nearly  60%  of  preterm  infants  in  the  first  30  days  of  life.2  Hyperbilirubinemia  is  the  most  common  neonatal  condition  requiring  extension  of  the  newborn  hospital  stay  or  readmission  to  the  hospital  after  newborn  discharge.3