LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF NEONATAL JAUNDICE ON BRAIN FUNCTION IN CHILDREN OF LOW BIRTH WEIGHT

Abstract

The remote effects of neonatal jaundice were studied prospectively in three matched groups of 30 children of low birth weight with varying maximal neonatal levels of serum bilirubin. After 4 to 11 years, mean IQ scores were slightly lower in the most severely jaundiced group than in the others, and this group had a significant excess of mentally retarded children. (IQ < 70), mostly boys. However, the differences between the mean IQ scores of the three matched groups were not significant, particularly when cases with hemolytic disease of the newborn were excluded. Analysis of the discrepancy between verbal and performance scores and of various special test scores also failed to demonstrate significant differences. electroencephalographic abnormalities were slightly more frequent according to neonatal levels of serum bilirubin, but differences were not significant. Within the most severely jaundiced group, 13 infants without hemolytic disease who received an exchange transfusion, on the average regained their birth weight significantly sooner than 14 similar infants who did not have a transfusion; the ultimate mean IQ of the former group was also considerably higher than that of the latter, but the difference was not significant. Large scale studies are considered necessary to elucidate these sequelae.