Taipei Veterans General Hospital yesterday warned new parents against overlooking the risks associated with jaundice, a common condition in newborns characterized by a yellow staining of the skin and the whites of the eyes which can develop into brain dysfunction.
Jaundice occurs when there is too much bilirubin — an orange-yellow pigment created as the red blood cells are broken down — in the body.
“Approximately 60 percent of neonates will develop the unharmful physiological jaundice. However, once their icteric index — which measures the amount of bilirubin in the blood — increases to 18 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), compared with the normal level of 12mg/dL, and are left untreated, 2 percent of them develop a severe and potentially fatal condition called kernicterus,” Division of Neonatology director Chen Shu-jen (陳淑貞) told a press conference in Taipei.
Chen said kernicterus has a mortality rate of 6.4 percent and those who survive the condition often suffer permanent neurological function impairment which manifests itself as cognitive disorders, hyperactivity, learning disabilities and cerebral palsy, hearing loss and mental retardation.
Citing a past case, Chen said a newborn was rushed to hospital after exhibiting a loss of appetite, yellow staining of the skin and a constant upward gaze four days after being born.
“A blood test found the baby’s icteric index had reached 49.9mg/dL. Despite undergoing a blood exchange transfusion, the child still died three days after being admitted to the hospital,” Chen said.
In an effort to prevent the recurrence of such a tragic incident, the hospital’s pediatric nurses have created a “jaundice identification chart,” which features several shades of skin color.
Chen said parents are instructed to press their thumb against the forehead of their newborn baby and compare the skin color of the depressed spot to the color chart.
“If the color matches those in the ‘normal zone,’ it means the baby is healthy. However, if it matches those in the ‘dangerous zone’ or ‘highly dangerous zone,’ then immediate medical care should be sought,” she said.
Jaundice can be aggravated if a baby is starved, which can be detected by symptoms such as decreased output of feces or crystallization of the urine, dry and loose skin, a sudden drop in weight, and either non-stop crying or abnormal silence, Chen said.
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