To test the same, researchers at the UCSF Children's hospital and Kaiser Permanente's Division of Research in Oakland, California, compared bilirubin levels in two groups of infants -- those born at hospitals that routinely screen for high bilirubin levels and those born at the non-screening hospitals.
The findings reported in the October issue of Pediatrics suggested that infants born at the screening hospitals were less likely to have severe hyperbilirubinemia -- a condition in which there is too much bilirubin in the blood -- as compared to their counterparts at the non-screening hospitals.
The researchers observed that high levels of bilirubin are linked to jaundice and also indicate that the disease might turn severe. However, proper screening at the time of birth could help detect the level of bilirubin in the newborn’s blood and this could prevent the chances of developing severe jaundice.
High levels of bilirubin toxic for babies’ nervous system
Around 60 percent of the newborns have high levels of bilirubin in the days following birth. The condition makes a newborn's skin and the whites of the eyes appear yellowish.
Researchers said that very high levels could be toxic for the babies’ nervous system and could also lead to seizures and brain damage in some critical cases. Therefore, it is very important to carry out an early screening immediately after the baby's birth so that the treatment can be started before the situation goes out of hand, they said.
"While we know that early identification of bilirubin levels before reaching toxic levels is important, bilirubin screening has not been universal, as physicians have decided which infants to screen based upon their degree of jaundice and clinical risk factors," said lead researcher Dr. Michael Kuzniewicz, a neonatologist at University of California San Francisco Children's Hospital.
"This study provides evidence that universal screening during the birth hospitalization is a more effective method for monitoring bilirubin levels in order to prevent them from rising to a point that can damage an infant's brain," added Kuzniewicz.
Light therapy: potential treatment for infant jaundice
Doctors suggest that light therapy could be used as a potential treatment to control the rising levels of bilirubin in an infant's blood.
Light therapy means an exposure to daylight or to specific wavelengths of light like white-light phototherapy, which is also used to treat infant jaundice. The therapy converts the yellowish pigment into a form that could be removed by the body itself.
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