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MedTerms Medical Dictionary |
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Kernicterus: Disorder due to jaundice in a newborn baby with a high blood level of the pigment bilirubin that is deposited in the brain resulting in damage. Some babies are at high risk. A baby who has bruises at birth is more likely to develop jaundice. A baby born before 37 weeks of pregnancy is susceptible to jaundice because its immature liver may not be able to get rid of much bilirubin. The level of bilirubin is monitored in newborns to determine whether treatment is needed to prevent kernicterus. Today no baby should develop brain damage from untreated jaundice. If a baby gets too jaundiced, the baby can be treated with phototherapy. The baby can be put under blue lights most of the day. If the baby gets very jaundiced, an exchange transfusion can be done. Kernicterus is also called bilirubin encephalopathy. |
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