Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Neonatal jaundice causes
Introduction
Overview
Overview
Neonatal jaundice is caused by hemolysis of the RBCs mainly due to either intravascular causes or extravascular causes. Other causes include non-hemolytic causes such as cephalosporin induced jaundice, genetic mutations of the UGT enzyme, and hepatic causes.
Causes
Causes
Common causes
- Common causes of neonatal jaundice include the following:[1][2]
- Increase bilirubin production due to hemolysis. Hemolytic causes include:
- Intrinsic causes of hemolysis
- Systemic contitions
- Enzyme conditions
- Globin synthesis defect
- Extrinsic causes of hemolysis
- Alloimmunity (The neonatal or cord blood gives a positive direct Coombs test and the maternal blood gives a positive indirect Coombs test)
- Hemolytic disease of the newborn (ABO)
- Rh disease
- Increase bilirubin production due to hemolysis. Hemolytic causes include:
Less common causes
- Hepatic causes
- Infections
- Metabolic
- Drugs:
- Total parenteral nutrition
- Post-hepatic
- Bile duct obstruction
Causes by Organ System
| Cardiovascular | No underlying causes |
| Chemical/Poisoning | No underlying causes |
| Dental | No underlying causes |
| Dermatologic | No underlying causes |
| Drug Side Effect | Losartan, Hydrochlorothiazide |
| Ear Nose Throat | No underlying causes |
| Endocrine | Hypothyroidism |
| Environmental | No underlying causes |
| Gastroenterologic | Gilbert’s syndrome, Crigler-Najjar syndrome, Alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency, Biliary atresia, Bile duct obstruction |
| Genetic | Cystic fibrosis, Alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency |
| Hematologic | Cephalhematoma, Polycythemia |
| Iatrogenic | No underlying causes |
| Infectious Disease | Sepsis, Hepatitis B, TORCH infections |
| Musculoskeletal/Orthopedic | No underlying causes |
| Neurologic | No underlying causes |
| Nutritional/Metabolic | Galactosemia, Total parenteral nutrition |
| Obstetric/Gynecologic | No underlying causes |
| Oncologic | No underlying causes |
| Ophthalmologic | No underlying causes |
| Overdose/Toxicity | No underlying causes |
| Psychiatric | No underlying causes |
| Pulmonary | Alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency |
| Renal/Electrolyte | No underlying causes |
| Rheumatology/Immunology/Allergy | No underlying causes |
| Sexual | No underlying causes |
| Trauma | No underlying causes |
| Urologic | No underlying causes |
| Miscellaneous | No underlying causes |
Causes in Alphabetical Order
- Alloimmunity
- Alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency
- Alpha-thalassemia
- Arteriovenous malformation
- Bile duct obstruction
- Biliary atresia
- Cephalhematoma
- Crigler-Najjar syndrome
- Cystic fibrosis
- Galactosemia
- Gilbert’s syndrome
- Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency (also called G6PD deficiency)
- Hemolytic disease of the newborn (ABO)
- Hepatitis B
- Hereditary elliptocytosis
- Hydrochlorothiazide
- Hypothyroidism
- Losartan
- Polycythemia
- Pyruvate kinase deficiency
- Rh disease
- Sepsis
- Spherocytosis
- Splenomegaly
- TORCH infections
- Total parenteral nutrition
References
References
- ↑ Poland, R L (1980). “High milk lipase activity associated with breastmilk jaundice”. Pediatr Res. 14: 1328–31. Unknown parameter
|coauthors=ignored (help) - ↑ Murphy, J F (1981). “Pregnanediols and breast-milk jaundice”. Arch Dis Child. 56: 474–76. Unknown parameter
|coauthors=ignored (help) - ↑ Kumral, A (2009). “Breast milk jaundice correlates with high levels of epidermal growth factor”. Pediatr Res. 66: 218–21. Unknown parameter
|coauthors=ignored (help) - ↑ Arias, IM (1964). “Prolonged neonatal unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia associated with breast feeding and a steroid, pregnane-3(alpha), 20(beta)-diol in maternal milk that inhibits glucuronide formation in vitro”. J Clin Invest. 43: 2037–47. Unknown parameter
|coauthors=ignored (help)
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Ahmed Elsaiey, MBBCH [2]