This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Behrman, R. E. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Behrman, R. E. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Kernicterus Associated with Perinatal Asphyxia and Drug Therapy

Department of Pediatrics of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the Harriet Lane Service of the Johns Hopkins Children's Medical and Surgical Center

Experimental studies suggest that a variety of factors play a role in the pathogenesis of kemicterus—protein-binding, acidosis, anoxia, hypoglycemia, etc. Certain drugs probably play a role also. At present, none of these factors are clearly enough defined or capable of quan titation even to the limited degree that is ac knowledged for the bilirubin level. However, their expressions are definite enough at this time to be considered when reaching what is still fundamentally a clinical judgment as to therapy in patients with hyperbilirubinemia in whom exchange transfusion is not clearly indi cated by the level of bilirubin alone or in com bination with blood type, hemoglobin, reticulo cyte count and Coombs test.

It seems clear that judgments about the safety of a drug for the fetus cannot be based entirely on experience with newborns or on experiments with newborn animals. The dan gers to a newborn infant which are inherent in a particular drug may be multiple and may not be fully known.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?