Is it time for a precision health approach to the management of newborn hyperbilirubinemia?

J Perinatol. 2024 Mar 21. doi: 10.1038/s41372-024-01941-3. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

Newborn hyperbilirubinemia during the first two weeks of life is one of most common problems requiring management decisions by a pediatrician. However, high bilirubin levels in the circulation have been associated with neurologic injury under a variety of conditions encountered in the newborn infant, such as hemolysis. The risk for developing dangerous hyperbilirubinemia is multifactorial and is determined by a complex set of factors related to a newborn infant's genetic capacities as well as intra- and extrauterine exposures. To this end, a precision health approach based on the integration of prenatal genetic and postnatal diagnostic measures might improve the management of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia.

Publication types

  • Review