Nuclear icterus in the baby

Definition

Nuclear icterus in babies is a severe complication of neonatal icterus, which leads to damage to brain structures. The neonatal jaundice is a yellowing of the skin, mucous membrane or internal organs of the newborn that occurs after birth. It can also occur physiologically up to a certain duration, i.e. without any disease value. It is triggered by increased bilirubin levels in the blood (hyperbilirubinemia). In the special form of neonatal jaundice, icterus prolongatus, it persists for more than two weeks.

Symptoms of cerinicecterus

The symptoms accompanying the onset of a nuclear icterus in a baby are apathy on the part of the child, i.e. a certain apathy on the part of the child. Diminished newborn reflexes, such as the grasping reflex, moro reflex, swallowing reflex and sucking reflex, can also occur. A further symptom is opisthotonus.

This refers to a severe spasm of the back and neck muscles, resulting in a curvature of the back to the back and “bridging”. Additional symptoms are a shrill screaming, unwillingness to drink and the sunset phenomenon on the eye. The sunset phenomenon describes the disappearance of the cornea of the eye behind the lower lid.

Thus, with an open eye, the white sclera at the top is clearly visible. At the first glance, one could think the child is looking down. This is normal in an early stage of development of the newborn, as the coordination of the eye muscles is not yet fully developed. However, it should not occur after the first weeks of life and can then be an indication of disease. If no therapy is administered, even more serious late effects may occur.

Causes

Another term for the nuclear icterus is bilirubin encephalopathy. The trigger for the kernicterus is hyperbilirubinemia, i.e. excessive bilirubin levels in the baby’s blood. Bilirubin is a breakdown product of hemoglobin, which is found in red blood cells.

It is yellow-brownish, which explains the yellowing of the skin. Causes for an increase in bilirubin are: which lead to a dissolution of red blood cells, etc. Premature babies also tend to suffer from this.

If there is no therapy or it is started too late, hyperbilirubinemia can lead to a kernicterus. In this case, the bilirubin gets into structures of the brain and inhibits biochemical processes in the cells, which leads to the death of these cells, which can have serious consequences. Particularly affected by the cell death are the so-called basal ganglia, which are a group of brain nuclei. Hence the name Kernikterus.

  • A low food supply,
  • Breast milk,
  • Medication,
  • Infections,
  • Hematomas
  • And other reasons,