Jaundice in preterm infants with hypoxia of various severity.

Maximum serum bilirubin concentration and the possible influencing factors were studied in three groups of preterm infants suffering from hyaline membrane disease. The groups were selected according to the severity of hypoxia, estimated on clinical grounds. It was found that the severity of hypoxia per se did not influence the peak bilirubin level. From among the parameters studied, only caloric intake correlated significantly and negatively with maximum bilirubin concentration in the total patient material, and more strongly in the surviving infants.