Newborns Jaundice And Cerebral Palsy

Newborns Jaundice And Cerebral Palsy.
Newborns with significant jaundice are not tenable to manifest a rare and life-threatening type of cerebral palsy if American Academy of Pediatrics' treatment guidelines are followed, according to a unfamiliar study. Jaundice is yellowing of the eyes and skin due to high levels of the liver-produced pigment bilirubin. In most cases, jaundice develops amongst newborns because their liver is too childlike to break down the pigment quickly enough. Usually, this condition resolves without treatment.

Some babies, however, must suffer phototherapy. Exposure to special lights changes bilirubin into a compound that can be excreted from the body, according to the researchers. If phototherapy fails, a operation called exchange transfusion may be required. During this invasive procedure, the infant's blood is replaced with giver blood. Recommendations for exchange transfusions are based on bilirubin level, the duration of the infant and other risk factors for brain damage.

Exchange transfusion isn't without risk. Potential complications from the therapy include blood clots, blood insistence instability, bleeding and changes in blood chemistry, according to the researchers. High bilirubin levels are also risky. They've been associated with a critical form of cerebral palsy called kernicterus. In pronunciamento to investigate this association, researchers from the University of California, San Francisco and the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research examined text from two groups of more than 100000 infants.