Fetal exposure to maternal hyperbilirubinemia. Neonatal course and outcome
F. Waffarn, S. Carlisle, I. Pena, J. E. Hodgman and D. Bonham
A case of prolonged fetal exposure to hyperbilirubinemia occurred in a
mother with end-stage liver disease during the second and third trimester
of pregnancy. At birth, the infant had elevated levels of both conjugated
and unconjugated serum bilirubin that required multiple-exchange
transfusions during the first three days of life. The infant exhibited
abnormal neurologic findings at birth that resolved during the neonatal
period. The results of subsequent developmental and neurologic evaluation
were normal at 14 months of follow-up. Prolonged fetal exposure to elevated
serum bilirubin levels may not necessarily result in developmental or
neurologic handicap.
