Question
The newborn has a slight yellowish face. I’m not sure if it’s jaundice. The jaundice value measured at discharge was 8.0. Can jaundice trigger frequent convulsions in infants, and how should they be treated?
Answer
Jaundice is a common symptom in newborns, mainly categorized into physiological jaundice and pathological jaundice. Physiological jaundice usually appears 2 to 3 days after birth, reaches its peak between 4 to 5 days, and returns to normal within 7 to 10 days. Pathological jaundice may occur at any time after birth, with a longer duration and greater harm to the infant. Since unconjugated bilirubin has a high lipid solubility, it can penetrate the blood-brain barrier into brain tissue, causing bilirubin encephalopathy, leading to yellowing of the basal ganglia, and subsequently causing the infant to lose appetite, scream, and even have convulsions of the limbs. In severe cases, it may lead to respiratory failure and death. Moreover, in recent years, there has been an increase in cases of lactation-induced jaundice, which may be due to an increase in progesterone in the mother’s body, which inhibits the activity of glucuronyltransferase in the liver, thus leading to jaundice.