Jaundice
Jaundice
Jaundice
MANAGEMENT
OF
JAUNDICE IN HEALTHY TERM NEWBORNS
This clinical practice guideline is meant to be a guide for clinical practice, based on the
best available evidence at the time of development. Adherence to these guidelines may
not necessarily ensure the best outcome in every case. Every health care provider is
responsible for the management of his/her unique patient based on the clinical picture
presented by the patient and the management options available locally.
Secretariat
c/o Health Technology Assessment Unit
Medical Development Division
Ministry of Health Malaysia
21st Floor, Bangunan PERKIM
Jalan Ipoh
51200 Kuala Lumpur.
All members of the expert committee for their contribution in drawing up this
guideline
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GUIDELINES DEVELOPMENT AND OBJECTIVES
2.2 Objectives
The aim of these guidelines is to assist health care providers in clinical decision making
by providing well-balanced information on the management of jaundice in newborns. It is
also hoped to standardize clinical management.
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LEVELS OF EVIDENCE SCALE
iii
SUMMARY
Jaundice is apparent clinically when the level of bilirubin in the serum rises above 85
µmol/L (5mg/dl). While in-utero, unconjugated bilirubin is cleared by the placenta
resulting in a cord serum bilirubin level usually of 35 µmol/L (2mg/dl) or less. However,
after birth, the level of jaundice is depend on the type of jaundice present. Continuation
elevation of serum bilirubin can result in kernicterus.
When newborns present with jaundice, the following clinical assessment need to be
carried out like taking history, physical examination, and assessment of severity of
jaundice. If any of the following signs and symptoms: jaundice below umbilicus,
jaundice up to soles of feet, rapid rise of serum bilirubin > 8.5 µmol/L/hr, prolonged
jaundice > 14 days, family history of haemolytic disease/kernicterus and clinical
symptoms of sepsis are present that kernicterus need to be referred for hospital
management.
The choice of treatment for jaundice are phototherapy and exchange transfusion; for
breastfeeding jaundice, continuation of frequent breast feeding and supplementing breast-
feeding with formula, with or without phototherapy, can be considered.
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GUIDELINES COMMITTEE
Dr Kuan Geok Lan Chairman
Consultant Paediatrician
Melaka Hospital
Dato’ Dr N L Lim
Consultant Paediatrician
Selayang Hospital
Dr S Yogeswary
Consultant Paediatrician
Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Klang Hospital
Dr P Umathevi
Consultant Paediatrcian
Seremban Hospital.
Dr. N Nachal
Consultant Paediatrician
Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Klang Hospital
Prof C T Lim
Consultant Paediatricians
University Malaya Medical Centre
Guidelines Coordinators
Dr S Sivalal
Deputy Director
Medical Development Division
Ministry of Health Malaysia
Dr Rusilawati Jaudin
Principal Assistant Director
Health Technology Assessment Unit
Ministry of Health Malaysia
Dr Zailiza Suli
Assistant Director
Health Technology Assessment Unit
Ministry of Health Malaysia
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TABLE OF CONTENT
AKCNOWLEDGEMENT i
GUIDELINES DEVELOPMENT AND OBJECTIVE ii
LEVEL OF EVIDENCE SCALE iii
SUMMARRY iv
EXPERT COMMITTEE v
1 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 What is Jaundice 1
1.2 What Can Go Wrong In Jaundice 1
1.3 Causes of Neonatal Jaundice 2
1.4 Factors Affecting Severity of NNJ 2
1.5 G6PD Deficiency 2
2 MANAGEMENT OF NEONATAL JAUNDICE (NNJ) 3
2.1 History 3
2.2 Physical Examination 3
2.3 Clinical Assessment of the Severity of Jaundice 3
2.4 When Should A Neonate Be Referred For 4
Hospital Management?
2.5 Investigation for NNJ 4
2.6 Transcultaneous Bilirubinometry 5
3 TREATMENT 5
3.1. Phototherapy 5
3.1. 1. Types of phototherapy 6
3.1. 2. The methods of providing intensified 6
phototherapy are as follow
3.1.3 Colours of phototherapy light 7
3.2 Exchange Transfusion 8
3.3 Drug Treatment 9
3.4 Breastfeeding and Jaundice 9
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1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 What is Jaundice?
Jaundice is apparent clinically when the level of bilirubin in the serum rises above
85µmol/l (5mg/dl). While in-utero, unconjugated bilirubin is cleared by the placenta,
resulting in a cord serum bilirubin level usually of 35µmol/L (2mg/dl), or less. However,
after birth, the level of jaundice, i.e. physiological jaundice is a reflection of the bilirubin
load to the liver, rate of hepatic excretion (liver maturity) and ability of the serum binding
protein to retain the bilirubin within the plasma. The great variation in individual
responses to a bilirubin load prevents the definition of a specific level as physiological
jaundice - levels beyond which therapy has been shown to do more good than harm
(Maisels, 1985). The pattern of physiological jaundice also varies with other factors like
prematurity, ethnicity.
In hemolytic jaundice, serum bilirubin levels exceed physiological levels and can be due
to sepsis and inherited hemolytic diseases like glucose 6-phosphate dehyrogenase (G6PD
) deficiency, ABO and Rh isoimmunisation.
Prolonged jaundice refers to jaundice persisting beyond the first two weeks of life in
the term neonate, and causes include late onset breast milk jaundice, congenital
hypothyroidism and other rare inherited conditions.
Babies with breast milk jaundice have prolonged levels of unconjugated bilirubin in
otherwise healthy infants, and β glucuronidase in the breast milk appears to be an
important factor in this condition. There are two types of Neonatal Jaundice associated
with breastfeeding, the first know as breastfeeding jaundice is related to inadequate
nursing on the breast resulting in dehydration and otherwise physiological jaundice
becoming more intense; and the second is breastmilk jaundice which is associated with
prolonged jaundice extending beyond the first two week of life. One or more substances
like enzyme (glucoronidase), 3 alpha, and 20 beta pregnanediol in breastmilk is though to
be may be responsible for breastmilk jaundice. (Kuhr, 1982 [Level 6]; Adam, 1985;
Maisels, 1986, Saigal, 1982; De Carvelho, 1981) [Level 7]
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• Breastfeeding and Breastmilk jaundice.
The incidence of G6PD deficiency varies among the various ethnic groups as follows -
Chinese 3.1%, Malay 1.4%, and Indian 0.2% (Robinson et al., 1976). These results were
obtained by using a fluorescent screening method, that had been found to be as sensitive
and specific as other screening tests (Fairbanks & Fernandez 1969).
2.1 History:
The following information needs to be obtained:
• Age of onset, rate of progress of jaundice (both clinically and also if serial serum
bilirubin (SB) results are available)
• Previous infants with NNJ, kernicterus, neonatal death, G6PD deficiency
• Mother’s blood group (from antenatal history)
• Gestation: although term gestation is taken as 37 completed weeks, infants born at
37- 38 weeks of gestation are more prone to hyperbilirubinaemia, the incidence of
hyperbilirubinaemia increasing with decreasing gestational age (Friedman et al.,
1987, Linn et al., 1985, Maisals , 1988).
• Presence of symptoms such as apnoea, difficulty in feeding, feed intolerance
and temperature instability.
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2.2 Physical examination
• General condition–whether ill-looking or lethargic, presence of hypotonia, or
abdominal distension.
• Pallor, presence of cephalohaematoma/subaponeurotic haematoma, petechiae,
purpura, ecchymosis, and hepatosplenomegaly
Table 1: correlation between levels of serum bilirubin with the area of skin that is
Jaundiced
Area of body Range of indirect bilirubin mg/dl(µmol/L)
Head & neck 4-8 (68-135)
Upper trunk 5-12 (85-204)
Lower trunk and thigh 8-16 (136-272)
Arms & lower legs 11-18 (187-306)
Palms and soles >18 (>306)
(NB: It may be difficult to assess jaundice in dark skinned infants).
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2.5 Investigations for NNJ Include:
• Total serum bilirubin - sufficient in most cases
• Unconjugated & conjugated fractions in specific conditions eg prolonged NNJ
• Infant’s blood group, maternal blood group (if not already known)
• Direct Coomb’s test
• G6PD status (if not already known)
• Full blood count
• Reticulocyte count
• Peripheral blood film (if hereditary spherocytosis suspected)
• Blood culture, Urine microscopy and culture (if infection is suspected)
3 TREATMENT
3.1 Phototherapy
The aim of phototherapy is to prevent potentially dangerous bilirubin levels and to
decrease the need for exchange transfusion, since phototherapy changes bilirubin into
more soluble forms to be excreted in the bile or urine. The effectiveness of phototherapy
is affected by the intensity, or irradiance, of the phototherapy light, increased irradiance
producing increased effectiveness, until the saturation dose of 40 µW/cm2/nm of
appropriate light is reached. The minimum irradiance is 6-12 µW/cm2/nm. Other factors
affecting the effectiveness are the spectrum of light delivered by the phototherapy unit,
the surface area of the infant exposed to phototherapy, and the distance of the light source
from the baby, the optimum distance being 35 - 50 cm in conventional lights. In addition,
overheating of the flourescent lamps used in phototherapy causes a rapid decay of the
phosphor resulting in incorrect emission spectrum of the lamps. Increasing bilirubin
concentration has a positive effect on the efficacy of phototherapy. Finally, the postnatal
age and gestational age of the infant also has a bearing, phototherapy being most
effective in very small preterm infants, and least effective in severely growth retarded
full term infants.
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3.1.1 Types of phototherapy
Types of Light wavelength Light intensity Color/type of bulbs
phototherapy (nm) (µW/cm2/nm)
Conventional 425-475 6-12 -Many variation
phototherapy -Blue/special blue/
-Day light fluorescent
tube
- Tungsten- halogen
lamps
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Phototherapy : Practical considerations.
Position light source 35-50 cm from top surface of the infant (when conventional
fluorescent photolight are used)
Expose infant appropriately
Cover infant's eyes
Turn infant every 2 hours
Monitor serum bilirubin levels as indicated
Monitor infant's temperature 4 hourly to avoid chilling or overheating
Allow parental-infant interaction
Turn off light during feeding and blood taking
Measure intensity of phototherapy light periodically using irradiance meters
Discontinue phototherapy when bilirubin is less than threshold levels and has been falling
for 24 hours. In infants without haemolytic disease, the average bilirubin rebound after
phototherapy is less than 1 mg/dl (17 µmol/dl). Discharge from hospital need not be
delayed in order to observe the infant for rebound, and in most cases, no further
measurement of bilirubin is necessary. However, if phototherapy is initiated early and
discontinued before the infant is 3 to 4 days old, additional ambulatory follow-up may be
necessary
Hydration- there is no evidence to support any influence of excess fluid administration on
serum bilirubin concentration. Some infants admitted with high bilirubin levels may also
be mildly dehydrated, and may need fluid supplementation. More frequent breastfeeding
is recommended because it inhibits the enterohepatic circulation of bilirubin and thus
lowers the serum bilirubin level. Other routine supplementation e.g. with dextrose water
is not indicated
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levels despite being on phototherapy. Cessation of feeds and hydration with intravenous
fluids is only recommended when an exchange transfusion is impending.
* Term infants who are clinically jaundiced at 24 hrs. of age or less are not considered
500
450
400
350
Total serum 300
Bilirubin (µmol/L)
250
200
150
100
Photo
50
KIV ET
ET 0
24 48 72 96
Hours of life
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3.3 Drug Treatment
Phenobarbitone, cholestyramine (Nicolopoulos, 1978, Tan et al., 1984) [Level 7], agar
(Harold et al., 1973 [Level 8] Gerard et al., 1983, Caglayan et al., 1993) [Level 7] and
vitamin E (Gross, 1979) [Level 8] have been investigated in the past to treat neonatal
hyperbilirubinemia, but there is no evidence to support the use of these. More recently tin
potoporphyrin and tin mesoporphyrin (Jorge, 1999, [Level 3]; Valaes, 1994 [Level 6];
Kappas 1995 [Level 3] have been used. These competitively inhibit the activity of heme
oxygenase, the rate limiting enzyme in heme catabolism, thus reducing the production of
bilirubin. Side effects are transient erythema at the site of the intramuscular injection of
the metalloporphyrin if concomitant phototherapy is also administered. There is limited
knowledge (Cooke, 1999) [Level 8] on long term effects of these drugs and hence they
are currently not recommended.
1. Maternal prenatal testing should include ABO and Rh(D) typing. When the
mother is Rh-negative, a direct Coombs’ test, ABO blood type, and an Rh(D) type
on the infant’s (cord) blood are recommended (American Academy of Pediatrics,
1992, Ministry of Health Malaysia, 1999).
2. All infants must have a glucose -6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) screening
done on cord blood (Ministry of Health Malaysia, 1999). The results of G6PD
screening must be known before discharge and special management is indicated
for those infants found deficient (Ministry of Health Malaysia, 2000).
3. Infants whose mothers are of O blood group and infants with a strong family
history of severe neonatal jaundice should be observed for at least 24 hours in the
ward. If earlier discharge is necessary, arrangements must be made for these
infants to be reviewed the following (Ministry of Health Malaysia , 1999).
4. Mothers must be assisted and provided support to manage breastfeeding
successfully before discharge.
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5. Approximately one third of healthy breast-fed infants have persistent jaundice
after 2 weeks of age (Alonso, 1991). A measurement of total and direct serum
bilirubin should be obtained and a history of dark urine or light stools should be
sought. If the history, physical examination and direct bilirubin results are normal,
continued observation is appropriate
6. Parents must be alerted to the significance of early onset (within 24 hours) and
severe jaundice and advised that in these situations medical attention is necessary.
7. Follow-up should be provided to all neonates discharged less than 48 hours after
birth by a health care professional in an ambulatory setting, or at home within 2-3
days of discharge (Seidman et al., 1995, Catz et al., 1995 )
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5. Algorithm Management of Jaundice in Healthy Terms Newborns
Refer Pediatrician
Observe
Continue breast feeding –
Investigation
phototherapy
- total serum bilirubin Supplement breast feeding with
- unconjugated & conjugated fraction in
formula – with/without
specific conditions
phototherapy
- Direct Coomb’s test
- G6PD status
- Full blood count
- Reticulocyte count
- Peripheral blood film
- Blood culture, urine microscopy & culture
- Transcutaneous Bilirubinometry
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Hours of life Total Serum Bilirubin Levels (µmol/l)
Phototherapy ET if Phototherapy ET + Intensive Phototherapy
Fails
* < 24 - - -
24 200 340 400
48 250 400 425
72 250 420 450
>72 >250 450 475
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6. REFERENCES
1. Adams JA, Hey DJ, Hall RT. Incidence of hyperbilirubinemia in breast- vs.
formula-fed infants. Clin Pediatr (Phila). 1985 Feb;24(2):69-73
2. Alonso EM, Whitington PF, Whitington SH, Rivard WA, Given G. Enterohepatic
circulation of non-conjugated bilirubin in rats fed with human milk. J Pediatr.
1991; 118:425-430
5. Cooke RWI New approaches to prevention of kernicterus. The Lancet 1999 May
29; 353(9167):1814-1815
9. Friedman L Lewis PJ. Clifton P et al. Factors influencing the incidence neonatal
jaundice. Br Med J 1987;1:1235-1237.
10. Odell GB, Gutcher GR, Whitington PF, Yang, Enteral administration of agar as
an effective adjunct to phototherapy of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia Pediatric
Research 1983, 17(10):810-813
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12. Kappas A et al Direct comparison of tin mesoporphyrin, an inhibitor of bilirubin
production and phototherapy in controlling hyperbilirubinemia in term and near
term newborn Pediatric 1995 Apr, 95(4):468-474
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13. Kuhr M, Paneth N. Feeding practices and early neonatal jaundice. J Pediatr
Gastroenterol Nutr 1982;1(4):485-8
15. Luzzato I.G6PD deficiency and hemolytic anaemia. In Hematology of Infant and
Childhood. Nathan DG and Oski FA ed. Saunders WB Co. Philadelphia1992, pp
674 – 695.
16. Maisels MJ, Gifford K. Normal serum bilirubin levels in the newborn and the
effect of breast-feeding. Pediatrics 1986 Nov;78(5):837-43
17. Maisels MJ. Gifford KL, Antle CE, Lieb GR. Jaundice in the healthy newborn
infants: a new approach to an old problem. Pediatrics 1988; 81:505-511.
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23. Nicolopoulos D Combined treatment of neonatal jaundice with cholestyramine
and phototherapy, The Journal of Pediatrics 1978:647-648
24. Robinson MI, Lau KS, Lin HP, Chan GL. Screening for G6PD Deficiency. Med J
Mal 1976; 30: 278 – 290.
25. Saigal S, Lunyk O, Bennett KJ, Patterson MC. Serum bilirubin levels in breast
and formula-fed infants in the first 5 days of life. Can Med Assoc J 1982
Nov15;127(10):985-9
26. Seidman DS, Stevenson DK, Ergaz Z, Gale Rena. Hospital readmission due to
neonatal hyperbilirubinaemia. Pediatrics 1995; 96: 727-729
28. Tan KL, Lim GC, Boey K.W. Efficacy of 'high intensity' blue light and 'standard'
day light phototerapy for non haemolytic hyperbilirubinaemia. Acta Paediatrics
1992; 81:870-874.
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