Kernicterus
Kernicterus, also known as bilirubin encephalopathy, is a form of brain impairment caused by bilirubin and is most frequently observed in neonates. Kernicterus is a condition that can develop in infants when there is an abnormally high amount of bilirubin in their blood and severe jaundice that continues untreated for an extended period. It can bring about athetoid cerebral palsy and hearing loss and affect a person’s vision and teeth or intellectual disability in the worst cases.
The accumulation of toxic quantities of bilirubin in the brain may result in various symptoms including fatigue, poor eating habits, fever, and vomiting. Affected newborns acquire excessively high amounts of bilirubin in the blood or hyperbilirubinemia, and jaundice, which is the persistent yellowing of the skin, mucous membranes, and whites of the eyes, during the first few days of life. It occurs when the levels of unconjugated bilirubin (indirect bilirubin) in the blood exceed 25 mg/dL due to reduced clearance and increased synthesis of bilirubin. Approximately sixty percent of infants develop jaundice, and some worsen into kernicterus.
