Neonatal/Infant Flashcards
What are the causes of physiological neonatal jaundice?
- Increased bilirubin production in neonates due to shorter RBC lifespan.
- Decreased bilirubin conjugation due to hepatic immaturity.
- Absence of gut flora impedes elimination of bile pigment.
- Exclusive breastfeeding - especially if there are feeding difficulties –> reduced intake –> to dehydration
- -> reduced bilirubin elimination and increased enterohepatic circulation of bilirubin.
What is the complication of neonatal jaundice?
Kernicterus - a permanent form of brain damage
When is jaundice normal and abnormal?
Normal - after 24 hours of birth
Abnormal - within 24 hours of birth
How long is prolonged jaundice?
Not fading after 14 days (term babies)
Not fading after 21 days (pre-term babies
What are the causes of prolonged jaundice?
1) Breastfeeding
2) Sepsis (UTI, TORCH)
3) hypothyroidism
4) Cystic fibrosis
5) Biliary atresia ( if conjugated and pale stools)
6) Galactosaemia
What are the causes of visible jaundice within 24 hours of birth?
1) Sepsis
2) Rhesus haemolytic disease
3) ABO incompatibility
4) Red cell anomalies
What are the symptoms of kernicterus?
Features of acute bilirubin encephalopathy
1) Lethargy
2) Poor feeding
3) hypertonicity
4) Opisthotonus (Spasm of the muscles causing backward arching of the head, neck and spine)
What are the treatments for jaundice?
- Phototherapy
- Exchange blood transfusion in severe hyperbilirubinaemia.
What is breast milk jaundice?
- Jaundice that develops/ prolonged after 4-7 days of life,
- Persists longer than physiologic jaundice
- Has no other identifiable cause
What is the probable cause of breast milk jaundice?
It was thought to be due to a complex steroid in breast milk, 3-alpha, 20-beta pregnanediol, which inhibits hepatic glucuronyl transferase but no definitive cause has been identified.
What is haemolytic disease in newborn (HDN)?
Is an alloimmune condition that develops in a fetus, when the IgG molecules (one of the five main types of antibodies) produced by the mother pass through the placenta.
What are the signs and symptoms of haemolytic disease in newborn (HDN)?
Jaundice Yellow vernix Combined cardiac failure (oedema, ascites) Hepatosplenomegaly Progressive anaemia Bleeding CNS signs kernicterus
What is hydrops fetalis?
Accumulation of fluid, or edema, in at least two fetal compartments. Locations can include: - subcutaneous tissue/scalp - pleura (pleural effusion) - pericardium (pericardial effusion) - abdomen (ascites)
What is neonatal hypoglycaemia?
serum glucose concentration < 2.2 mmol/L in term neonates or < 1.7 mmol/L in preterm neonates.
What are the risk factors for neonatal hypoglycaemia?
Prematurity
Small for gestational age
Maternal diabetes
Perinatal asphyxia (body deprived of O2)