What are the treatments for neonatal jaundice?

What are the treatments for neonatal jaundice?

If you want to treat neonatal jaundice, you can consider using drugs, such as immunoglobulin, or supplementing albumin, phenobarbital, etc. In addition to drug treatment, you can also irradiate children with blue light. If the treatment is not effective, you should consider blood transfusion therapy.

1. Drug treatment of neonatal jaundice

1. Immunoglobulin

Neonatal jaundice can be treated with drugs, such as immunoglobulin transfusion, which is mainly used to treat jaundice caused by hyperbilirubinemia due to blood type insolubility. It generally has no side effects, but a small number of children may have adverse reactions such as allergies and rashes.

2. Albumin

To treat neonatal jaundice, albumin supplementation may also be considered. Albumin binding to free bilirubin can effectively reduce the bilirubin level in the blood, but if the child's albumin level is normal, this method is not suitable.

3. Phenobarbital

Phenobarbital is also a commonly used drug for the treatment of neonatal jaundice. Liver drugs can induce liver enzyme activity, making the liver metabolize faster and not combine with bilirubin. Generally speaking, it has no side effects and occasionally causes drowsiness.

2. Blue light irradiation treatment for neonatal jaundice

Blue light irradiation is also one of the common methods for treating neonatal jaundice, which can effectively reduce unconjugated bilirubin in serum. The method is very simple. Put the newborn in a phototherapy box, then use a black eye mask to protect the newborn's eyes to avoid damage to the retina, cover the perineum and anus with a diaper, and expose other places. Before the bilirubin drops below 7 mg/dL, it can be irradiated with single-sided or double-sided light for 2 to 48 hours.

3. Exchange transfusion therapy for neonatal jaundice

If the newborn has pathological jaundice, it can also be treated with exchange transfusion therapy, which can effectively reduce the bilirubin content, replace allergenic red blood cells, and effectively reduce anemia. However, if you want to apply this method, you must meet certain conditions and may have adverse reactions, so you must strictly grasp the indications, and it is usually used when phototherapy fails.