What is jaundice? Different types have different causes.

Many newborns are particularly prone to jaundice. The causes of this disease can be divided into two main types: physiological and pathological. Generally speaking, physiological jaundice will disappear naturally without treatment, while pathological jaundice requires treatment targeted at the cause.

Physiological jaundice

Most full-term infants develop jaundice 2 to 3 days after birth, which is most severe on the 5th to 7th day and disappears on the 10th to 14th day. In premature infants, jaundice may be delayed to 3 to 4 weeks and the general condition is good. The upper limit of physiological jaundice in premature infants with serum bilirubin <257umol/L (15mg/dl) is currently considered inappropriate, because smaller premature infants may develop bilirubin encephalopathy even if their bilirubin is <171umol/L (10mg/dl).

Pathological jaundice

1. Characteristics: ① Jaundice appears within 24 hours; ② Jaundice is severe and develops rapidly, with serum bilirubin >205umol/L (12mg/dl) or rising by >85umol/L (5mg/dl) daily. ③ Jaundice persists for too long (>2 weeks in full-term infants, >4 weeks in premature infants) or recurs and progressively worsens; ④ Serum conjugated bilirubin >26umol/L (1.5mg/dl).

2. Causes (1) Infectious: ① Neonatal hepatitis, mostly due to the virus transmitted to the fetus through the placenta or infection through the birth canal, with cytomegalovirus and hepatitis B virus being the most common; ② Neonatal sepsis and urinary tract infection, due to bacterial toxins accelerating the destruction of red blood cells and damaging liver cells. (2) Non-infectious: ① neonatal hemolysis; ② biliary atresia; ③ breast milk jaundice; ④ delayed meconium excretion; ⑤ genetic diseases such as erythrocyte 6-phosphate glucose dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency; ③ drug-induced jaundice such as vitamin K. etc.; ①Others such as hypoglycemia.

Treatment of jaundice

Find out the cause and treat the primary disease. Supportive care is available. Except for a few cases of congenital biliary atresia that require surgical intervention, the vast majority can be treated medically.