Neonatal jaundice MRI

The main symptom of neonatal jaundice is the yellowing of the skin and eyes of the newborn. At the same time, the baby will also have symptoms of loss of appetite and irritability. Although jaundice is a normal phenomenon in babies, it is still dangerous if the symptoms of jaundice in babies are severe. Therefore, timely and effective examination and treatment are very important. Parents must observe the baby's jaundice carefully.

There is no need to do MRI if the child is too young. It is normal for a baby. Physiological jaundice is very common, so there is no need to worry too much.

If the jaundice is too high or persists, it often means that the baby has some disease or underlying problem. The reasons are categorized as follows:

1. Too much bilirubin production:

Bilirubin is produced by the components after the destruction of red blood cells. The more red blood cells are destroyed, the more bilirubin is produced. Common situations include:

2. The blood types of the mother and baby are incompatible (including ABO and Rh)

A large amount of hemolysis occurs in the red blood cells of the baby at birth, which can cause excessive production of bilirubin and cause severe neonatal jaundice. If the mother is type O, the father is type A or type B, and the baby is type A or B, the antibodies in the mother's body may cause damage to the baby's red blood cells, causing hemolysis and causing varying degrees of neonatal jaundice. There are not many problems with Rh blood type in China, but if hemolytic disease occurs due to blood type incompatibility, the consequences are more serious than those caused by ABO blood type incompatibility.

3. When the baby is born with internal or subcutaneous bleeding

For example, the baby's head may develop a tumor or hematoma due to pressure when passing through the birth canal or the use of forceps during delivery. There will be a lot of blood in this tumor and hematoma, which will produce a large amount of hemoglobin when dissolved, causing jaundice in the baby.

Phototherapy for neonatal jaundice has been proven through long-term practice to be an effective, simple and safe treatment for neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. The reason why phototherapy can quickly relieve the patient's jaundice is that light with a wavelength of 420~470 nanometers is most easily absorbed by indirect bilirubin.

This wavelength of light is most abundant in blue light, and it is also found in white light (such as fluorescent lamps and sunlight). Therefore, when the skin of a jaundice patient is irradiated with blue light, green light or white fluorescent lamp, indirect bilirubin can be oxidized and decomposed into water-soluble substances under the action of light, and is quickly excreted from the bile and partially excreted from the urine, thereby reducing the concentration of bilirubin in tissues and blood.

Method: When exposed to light, the child should lie naked in an incubator, and cover his eyes with an eye mask made of black paper or black cloth to prevent light damage to the eyes. Use 5 to 10 blue light or fluorescent lamps, arranged in an arc, with a total brightness of about 200 watts, and hang them with a rectangular cover at a height of about 50 cm from the baby. During light therapy, the incubator temperature should be maintained at 28-33°C. Serum bilirubin can be significantly reduced after 8 to 12 hours of light therapy. For cases of non-progressive hemolysis, irradiation for 24 to 48 hours is generally sufficient. Provide adequate water to the child during light exposure. Some patients may develop a transient rash when exposed to light, which generally does not require treatment and will heal on its own.