Patient's question:
Baby showed high jaundice again on the third day of birth, with a reading of 13.9 in the morning and 15.3 in the afternoon. The doctor recommended hospitalization for blue light treatment. I suggested taking medication instead, and after the fourth day, with a morning reading of 15.1, I thought it had decreased. After being discharged with medication, the baby's bilirubin level returned to 22 after two days, and we were readmitted for blue light treatment.A few hours later, the doctor called to say the baby's albumin level was slightly low, fearing that a drop in albumin could lead to cerebral palsy. There was also a risk of blood diseases from receiving albumin. I refused the treatment. I asked: How high does the jaundice need to be and for how long does it need to persist to cause cerebral palsy?
Doctor's answer:
There are many reasons for high jaundice index in babies. First, jaundice that reappears 2-3 days after birth and gradually fades away within 7-10 days is known as physiological jaundice. Another type is pathological jaundice, which can occur after 24 hours of birth, with the peak of jaundice varying and not subsiding even after 2 weeks, with jaundice levels potentially exceeding 204. This is generally seen in ① neonatal hemolytic disease, where the father has A or B blood type, and the mother has O blood type. ② breast milk jaundice ③ reduced activity of glucuronidation transferase.