Patient's question:
At 12 days old, the baby's jaundice level was measured at 19.1.Doctor's answer:
In medicine, jaundice in newborns under the age of one month (within 28 days of birth) is referred to as neonatal jaundice. Neonatal jaundice refers to a condition during the newborn period where an abnormal metabolism of bilirubin leads to elevated levels of bilirubin in the blood, resulting in jaundice characterized by yellowing of the skin, mucous membranes, and sclera. This condition is classified as either physiological or pathological.Physiological jaundice typically appears 2 to 3 days after birth, peaks between 4 to 6 days, and resolves within 7 to 10 days. In premature infants, the duration is longer, and apart from mild loss of appetite, there are no other clinical symptoms. If jaundice appears within 24 hours after birth, with a daily increase in serum bilirubin exceeding 5 mg/dL or >0.5 mg/dL per hour; if it persists for more than 2 weeks in full-term infants or more than 4 weeks in premature infants without resolution; or if it worsens, reappears after initially fading, or does not appear until 1 week to several weeks after birth, these are all indicative of pathological jaundice.