Kernicterus and Prematurity

Kernicterus and prematurity.

At one time kernicterus was most commonly associated with haemolytic disease of the newborn. With the introduction of adequate exchange transfusions this complication, whether due to Rh or to ABO incompatibility, has been virtually eliminated. In 1950 two groups of workers, Aidin, Corner and Tovey in this country and Zuelzer and Mudgett in America, independently drew attention to the fact that ...

Kernicterus: Past, Present, and Future

Chelation Therapy in the Neonatal Period: D-penicillamine Can Exert Neuroprotective Effects in Kernicterus and Retinopathy of Prematurity

This review covers of the results of previously conducted retrospective and prospective clinical trials and data of Cochrane reviews to examine the effects of Dpenicillamine (DPA) for neonatal hyperbilirubinemia and associated low incidence of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). In the ABOand Rh-Hemolytic Disease of the Newborn (HDN) DPA significantly reduced the need for both initial and repeate...

MR findings in kernicterus.

We describe the MR appearance of kernicterus (bilirubin encephalopathy). T2-weighted images show high signal bilaterally in the globus pallidus, a known area of cerebral deposition of bilirubin.

Unbound bilirubin: a better predictor of kernicterus?

The peroxidase method described in this paper measures non–protein-bound bilirubin by oxidation of the free fraction. The oxidation rate is slow compared with rapid dissociation of albumin-bound bilirubin. Thus, the unbound bilirubin can be estimated from the initial rate of decline in total bilirubin concentration. In the 1970s, severe neonatal hyperbilirubinemia and kernicterus were major cli...