Medical term:
kernicterus
kernicterus
[ker-nik´ter-us]a condition in the newborn marked by severe neural symptoms, associated with high levels of bilirubin in the blood; it is commonly a sequela of icterus gravis neonatorum.
Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. © 2003 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.
ker·nic·ter·us
(ker-nik'tĕr-ŭs),Jaundice associated with high levels of unconjugated bilirubin, or in small premature infants with more modest degrees of bilirubinemia; yellow staining and degenerative lesions are found chiefly in basal ganglia including in the lenticular nucleus, subthalamus, Ammon horn, and other areas; may occur with hemolytic disorder such as Rh or ABO erythroblastosis or G6PD deficiency as well as with neonatal sepsis or Crigler-Najjar syndrome; characterized early clinically by opisthotonos, high-pitched cry, lethargy, and poor sucking, as well as abnormal or absent Moro reflex, and loss of upward gaze; later consequences include deafness, cerebral palsy, other sensorineural deficits, and mental retardation.
Synonym(s): bilirubin encephalopathy, nuclear jaundice
[Ger. Kern, kernel (nucleus), + Ikterus, jaundice]
Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
kernicterus
Bilirubin encephalopathy Neonatology The staining of parts of the infant brain, especially the basal ganglia and hippocampus by BR that has penetrated the blood-brain barrier which, in older children, is more impervious to bilirubin; kernicterus is classically linked to Rh HDN, when the immune system of a mother who does not have the RhD–less commonly C, c, E, e, or other antigen on her RBCs, comes in contact with the infant's RBCs and forms antibodies to them; this causes a brisk hemolysis and ↑ BR; serum levels of ≥ 20 mg/dL of BR posea high risk for kernicterus, and represent a medical emergency; severe kernicterus is often fatal, and characterized by lethargy, poor feeding, hypertonicity, seizures and apnea; survivors have sequelae in the form of dental dysplasia, cerebral palsy, hearing loss Clinical, full term infants Severe jaundice, lethargy, poor feeding, choreoathetoid cerebral palsy, mental retardation, sensorineural hearing loss, gaze paresis. See Hemolytic disease of the newborn, Jaundice.
McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
ker·nic·ter·us
(kĕr-nik'tĕr-ŭs)Yellow staining and degenerative lesions in basal ganglia associated with high levels of unconjugated bilirubin in infants; may occur with hemolytic disorder such as Rh or ABO erythroblastosis or G6PD deficiency as well as with neonatal sepsis or Crigler-Najjar syndrome; characterized by opisthotonos, high-pitched cry, lethargy, and poor suckling, as well as abnormal or absent Moro reflex, and loss of upward gaze; later consequences include deafness, cerebral palsy, other sensorineural deficits, and mental retardation.
Synonym(s): bilirubin encephalopathy, nuclear jaundice.
Synonym(s): bilirubin encephalopathy, nuclear jaundice.
[Ger. Kern, kernel (nucleus), + ikterus, jaundice]
Medical Dictionary for the Health Professions and Nursing © Farlex 2012
kernicterus
Jaundice of the brain resulting from RHESUS FACTOR disease in babies in which excessive red cell breakdown results in the release of large quantities of BILIRUBIN. Death is common before, or within a week or two after, birth. Surviving infants feed poorly, suffer varying degrees of paralysis, epilepsy, spasticity of the muscles, mental retardation, deafness and blindness. Kernicterus is preventable by prenatal diagnosis and treatment.Collins Dictionary of Medicine © Robert M. Youngson 2004, 2005
Kernicterus
A potentially lethal disease of newborns caused by excessive accumulation of the bile pigment bilirubin.
Mentioned in: Biliary Atresia, Neonatal Jaundice
Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
ker·nic·ter·us
(kĕr-nik'tĕr-ŭs)Yellow staining and degenerative lesions in basal ganglia associated with high levels of unconjugated bilirubin in infants; characterized by opisthotonos, high-pitched cry, lethargy and poor sucking, and loss of upward gaze; later consequences include deafness, cerebral palsy, other sensorineural deficits, and mental retardation.
Synonym(s): bilirubin encephalopathy, nuclear jaundice.
Synonym(s): bilirubin encephalopathy, nuclear jaundice.
[Ger. Kern, kernel (nucleus), + ikterus, jaundice]
Medical Dictionary for the Dental Professions © Farlex 2012
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