What causes jaundice in children?

Children's health is generally recognized as weaker in the medical community, because their resistance is not fully mature and they are easily affected by various factors. Therefore, once these disease factors appear, the child's body needs to be closely monitored and treated. Jaundice is an important factor affecting children's health. Let's take a look at what causes high jaundice in children?

1. Physiological jaundice

It is related to the characteristics of bilirubin metabolism in newborns, including relatively more bilirubin production; insufficient ability of hepatocytes to absorb bilirubin; poor ability of plasma albumin to bind bilirubin; defective bilirubin excretion capacity; and increased enterohepatic circulation. Therefore, 60% of full-term infants and 80% of premature infants may develop visible jaundice in the first week after birth.

2. Pathological jaundice

1. Excessive production of bilirubin

Due to excessive destruction of red blood cells and increased enterohepatic circulation, serum unconjugated bilirubin increases. Common causes include: polycythemia, extravascular hemolysis, alloimmune hemolysis, infection, increased enterohepatic circulation, erythrocyte enzyme deficiency, abnormal erythrocyte morphology, hemoglobinopathy, vitamin E deficiency and hypozincemia.

2. Hepatic bilirubin metabolism disorder

Due to the low function of liver cells to absorb and bind bilirubin, the serum unconjugated bilirubin increases. Common causes include: hypoxia and infection, Crigler-Najjar syndrome (congenital uridine diphosphate glucuronyltransferase deficiency), Gilbert syndrome (congenital non-hemolytic unconjugated bilirubinemia), Lucey-Driscoll syndrome (familial transient neonatal jaundice), drugs (such as sulfonamides, salicylates, indomethacin, lanolin, etc.), congenital hypothyroidism, hypopituitarism, trisomy 21 syndrome, etc.

3. Bile excretion disorder

Impairment in the excretion of conjugated bilirubin by hepatocytes or obstruction of the bile duct can lead to hyperconjugated bilirubinemia, but if accompanied by impaired hepatocyte function, unconjugated bilirubin may also increase. Common causes include: neonatal hepatitis, congenital metabolic defects, bile duct obstruction, Dubin-Johnson syndrome (congenital non-hemolytic conjugated bilirubinemia), etc.