Neonatal Hyperbilirubinemia

Icterus neonatorum, or neonatal jaundice, has long been recognized.1 The term “kernicterus” was introduced in the early 1900s to refer to the yellow staining of the basal ganglia observed in infants who died with severe jaundice.2 From the 1950s through the 1970s, because of a high incidence of Rh hemolytic disease and kernicterus, pediatricians were aggressive in treating jaundice.3 However, several factors have changed the management of jaundice. Studies in the 1980s and 1990s suggested that kernicterus from jaundice was rare and that too many infants were being treated unnecessarily.47 Also, newborn infants were being discharged from the hospital . . .