Question
A premature baby was born and immediately admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit. After discharge, the parents noticed the baby’s entire body was yellow. The doctor suggested a brain MRI. The parents are skeptical about the safety of this test and want to know if jaundice can affect the results of the MRI?
Answer
Dear parents, newborns can indeed undergo MRI testing. Severe jaundice may affect a baby’s intellectual development, but if detected early and treated promptly, the impact of jaundice will be relatively minor. Under current medical conditions, it usually does not cause any particularly significant impact on the baby. Although MRI involves radiation exposure and has some radioactive hazards, the amount of radiation received from occasional examinations is extremely low, so there is no need to be overly concerned.