Hyperbilirubinemia in the Neonatal Period

Abstract

Increased bilirubin content, which probably occurs in all infants during the first week of life, often reaches sufficient proportions in that period to be associated with visible jaundice. Neonatal jaundice should be considered a valuable clinical sign of many illnesses to which an infant is subject and should not be casually dismissed as a physiologic norm.

The author discusses the various causes of hyperbilirubinemia in the neonatal period and the means for its detection, and emphasizes the need for prompt recognition.