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Complications
By Mayo Clinic staffSevere jaundice, if left untreated, can cause serious complications.
Acute bilirubin encephalopathy
Bilirubin is toxic to cells of the brain. If a baby has severe jaundice, there's a risk of bilirubin passing into the brain, a condition called acute bilirubin encephalopathy. Prompt treatment may prevent significant permanent damage.
The following signs may indicate acute bilirubin encephalopathy in a baby with jaundice:
- Listless, sick or difficult to wake
- High-pitched crying
- Poor sucking or feeding
- Backward arching of the neck and body
- Fever
Kernicterus
Kernicterus is the syndrome that occurs if acute bilirubin encephalopathy causes permanent damage to the brain. Kernicterus may result in:
- Involuntary and uncontrolled movements (athetoid cerebral palsy)
- Permanent upward gaze
- Hearing loss
- Intellectual impairment
- Piazza A, et al. Digestive system disorders. In: Kliegman R, et al, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/121716574-3/807466544/1608/324.html. Accessed Feb. 22, 2009.
- Questions and answers: Jaundice and your newborn. American Academy of Pediatrics. http://www.aap.org/family/Jaundice_English.pdf. Accessed Feb. 25, 2009.
- Moerschel SK, et al. A practical approach to neonatal jaundice. American Family Physician. 2008;77:1255.
- Management of hyperbilirubinemia in the newborn infant 35 or more weeks of gestation. Pediatrics. 2004;114:297.
- Cohen SM. Jaundice in the full-term newborn. Pediatric Nursing. 2006;32:202.
- Maisels MJ, et al. Phototherapy for neonatal jaundice. New England Journal of Medicine. 2008;358:920.
