Neonatal jaundice.
BACKGROUND
About 50% of term and 80% of preterm babies develop jaundice, which usually appears 2-4 days after birth, and resolves spontaneously after 1-2 weeks. Jaundice is caused by bilirubin deposition in the skin. Most jaundice in newborn infants is a result of increased red cell breakdown and decreased bilirubin excretion.


METHODS
We conducted a systematic review and aimed to answer the following clinical questions: What are the effects of treatments for unconjugated hyperbilirubinaemia in term and preterm infants? We searched: Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library and other important databases up to November 2006 (BMJ Clinical evidence reviews are updated periodically, please check our website for the most up-to-date version of this review). We included harms alerts from relevant organisations such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).


RESULTS
We found 14 systematic reviews, RCTs, or observational studies that met our inclusion criteria. We performed a GRADE evaluation of the quality of evidence for interventions.


CONCLUSIONS
In this systematic review we present information relating to the effectiveness and safety of the following interventions: albumin infusion, exchange transfusion, home phototherapy, hospital phototherapy, tin-mesoporphyrin.
Evans
David
D
Southmead Hospital, Bristol, UK.
D001663:Bilirubin; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D005078:Exchange Transfusion, Whole Blood; D006801:Humans; D006932:Hyperbilirubinemia; D015931:Intensive Care, Neonatal; D007567:Jaundice, Neonatal; D010789:Phototherapy; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D001663:Bilirubin