sodium-ethylxanthate and Kernicterus

Seven male newborns of Chinese, Greek and Italian origin presented with severe hemolytic jaundice due to red cell glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PD) deficiency. In five, the hemolysis was precipitated by inhalation of mothball vapours in the home. Kernicterus was evident upon admission in six infants and was fatal in four of these.G-6-PD deficiency should be suspected as a cause of jaundice in all full-term male infants of these ethnic groups. The diagnosis can be confirmed in any hospital by the methemoglobin reduction test. In areas similar to Toronto, Canada, where these high-risk ethnic groups prevail, the following measures are recommended: (1) detection of G-6-PD deficient newborns by screening cord bloods of all infants of these ethnic groups; (2) protection of affected infants from potentially hemolytic agents such as naphthalene, certain vitamin K preparations, and sulfonamides; and (3) observation of serum bilirubin levels to assess the need for exchange transfusion for hyperbilirubinemia.

Topics: Analgesics; Analgesics, Non-Narcotic; Antimalarials; Antipyretics; Asian People; Biochemical Phenomena; Biochemistry; Canada; Drug Therapy; Erythrocytes; Ethnology; Exchange Transfusion, Whole Blood; Genetics, Medical; Glucosephosphate Dehydrogenase Deficiency; Glucosephosphates; Hemolysis; Humans; Hyperbilirubinemia; Infant, Newborn; Infant, Newborn, Diseases; Jaundice; Jaundice, Neonatal; Kernicterus; Male; Methemoglobin; NADP; Naphthalenes; Nitrofurans; Sex; Statistics as Topic; Sulfanilamide; Sulfanilamides; Sulfonamides; Toxicology; White People