Difference between physiological and pathological jaundice
Indicators of pathological jaundice in newborn infants:
- Early onset of clinical jaundice in the first 24 hours of age
- Rapid rise of serum bilirubin at a rate faster than 5mg/dL/24 hr.
- Sick newborn with jaundice
- Serum bilirubin > 250μmol/l by 48h of age or > μ300 mol/l by 72h of age (serum bilirubin is >12 mg/dL in a full-term infant) (especially in the absence of risk factors) or 10-14 mg/dL in a preterm infant)
- Failure to respond to phototherapy
- Prolonged jaundice> 14 days in term infants and >21 days in preterm infants
- Conjugated bilirubin level of >μ25 mol/l (>2 mg/dL at any time)
- Pale chalky stools and dark urine.
The distinction between physiologic and pathologic jaundice relates to the timing, rate of rise, and extent of hyperbilirubinemia.