Kernicterus

What it means

Damage to cerebral nuclei caused in infants by highly increased levels of unconjugated bilirubin. The basal ganglia and brainstem nuclei could be shown to have a yellow staining historically in infants who died of kernicterus, that is, kernicterus is strictly speaking a pathological diagnosis. The presence of kernicterus may be inferred in infants with characteristic acute or chronic bilirubin-induced neurological dysfunction.

Rare diseases that can present with this4

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category