"Uncomplicated" Hyperbilirubinemia of Prematurity

Abstract

The role that bilirubin plays in brain damage associated with prematurity has not been completely defined. The hazards in these infants of hyperbilirubinemia in association with isoimmunization and excessive amounts of vitamin K analogue,¹are well known; it has also been shown that when sulfisoxazole²is given to jaundiced premature infants, a significant proportion die with kernicterus. However, the magnitude of the risk of hyperbilirubinemia in the absence of these known complicating factors has not been established. Meyer³and Crosse et al.⁴stated that hyperbilirubinemia is harmful to the newborn premature infant, and suggested that 18 mg/100 ml be considered the "critical" concentration of bilirubin in the blood, above which brain damage is likely to occur. Corner,⁵Dundon,⁶and Newns et al.⁷agreed in principle but believed that the critical concentration is higher. Another group⁸found a correlation between increasing concentrations of