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Objective: The aim of this study was to determine what proportion of newborns admitted with idiopathic non-hemolytic hyperbilirubinemia exhibit severe weight loss and hypernatremia. Methods: The prospective study involved 115 infants >48 h old who were admitted with jaundice between July 2002 and July 2003, and had unconjugated bilirubin levels >12 mg/dL. Premature babies (gestational age <37 weeks) and those with hemolytic jaundice and other pathologic causes of non-hemolytic jaundice were excluded. Postnatal age (days) at admission, bodyweight at admission, weight change since birth (percentage weight loss calculated at admission) and mode of feeding (breast-feeding, formula feeding, mixed feeding) were recorded. Severe weight loss was defined in babies who showed >10% weight loss or had not regained enough to reach birthweight by postnatal day 10. Serum Na levels and breast-milk Na levels were also measured. Results: Twenty-eight (33%) of the 86 newborns with idiopathic hyperbilirubinemia in the study exhibited severe weight loss. Almost all the 86 babies were exclusively breast-fed, and 10 babies (12%) had severe weight loss combined with hypernatremia. The group with severe weight loss and hypernatremia had higher breast-milk Na levels than the other infants. Conclusion: The results indicate that a large proportion of babies with non-hemolytic jaundice have severe weight loss, and that breast-fed newborns with the combination of weight loss and hypernatremia may present with non-hemolytic jaundice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze maternal and neonatal interleukin 6 (IL-6) (-174 G/C) polymorphism and to determine effect on preterm birth and neonatal morbidity.Study Design: One hundred and sixty-four mothers (100 term births, 64 preterm births) and 183 newborn infants who were 100 healthy term and 83 preterm babies followed in newborn intensive care units were evaluated. PCR-RFLP was performed for IL-6 (-174 G/C) genotyping.Results: The rate of GG genotype in mothers of term and preterm infants were 54% (n = 54/100), 75% (n = 48/64), respectively (p > .05) and the rate of GC + CC genotype was 46% (n = 46/100) and 25% (n = 16/64) in mothers giving term and preterm birth (PTB), respectively (p < .05). Additionally, the rate of GG genotype was 65% (n = 65/100) and 81.9% (n = 68/83) in term infants and preterm infants, respectively. GC + CC genotype was 35% (n = 35/100) in term infants and 18.1% (n = 15/83) in preterm infants (p < .05). The effect of IL-6 (-174) GC + CC genotype on PTB was statistically significant.Conclusion: The IL-6 174 G/C gene polymorphism was significantly different between mothers who were giving to term and preterm birth. The presence of polymorphism is protective against preterm birth and was not associated with neonatal outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Describes the cases of five babies who presented with severe hyperbilirubinemia in the first two weeks of life and were diagnosed with congenital hypothyroidism. Serum concentrations of thyroxine and thyrotropin; Symptoms of hypothyroidism.

This study was undertaken to determine the frequency and investigate the etiology of extreme hyperbilirubinemia (total serum bilirubin [TSB] ≥25 mg/dL [428 μmol/L]) in newborns admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit in southern Turkey. The charts of 93 term and near-term infants admitted with TSB levels of 25 mg/dL (428 μmol/L) or greater in the first 30 days after birth were retrospectively reviewed. During the 4.5-year study period, 774 infants were admitted to our unit with neonatal jaundice. Ninety-three (12%) of these infants had TSB levels of 25 mg/dL (428 μmol/L) or greater. The mean TSB level in the 93 cases was 30.1 ± 5.7 mg/dL (514.7 ± 97.5 μmol/L), and the peak levels ranged from 25.0 to 57.4 mg/dL (428–981.5 μmol/L). Thirty-three (35.5%) of the 93 babies had TSB levels of 30 mg/dL (513 μmol/L) or greater. Eighty-nine of 93 infants were being exclusively breast-fed. Nineteen babies were isoimmunized, 7 were bacteremic, 2 of the 39 babies tested for glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase had this enzyme deficiency, and 1 of the 71 infants tested for thyroid function had hypothyroidism. No cause for extreme hyperbilirubinemia was found in 61 (65.6%) cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]