Background and Aim: Prolonged jaundice (PJ) or hyperbilirubinemia usually persists beyond 14 days of age, with a prevalence of 15-40%. Effective control and decrease in the severity of jaundice can be achieved by recognition of the causes of PJ. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of PJ, its symptoms and predisposing factors in infants admitted to Ghaem Hospital in Mashhad.

Material and Methods: This descriptive study we selected 413 infants with PJ in Ghaem Hospital in Mashhad by using convenience sampling method. After taking medical history and physical examination, necessary Labratory workups were performed. Using SPSS version 13.5, data analysis was performed by using mean and standard deviation.

Results: The mean age of the study population was 19.5±4.7 days. The mean birth weight was 2900±600 gr, and the mean indirect bilirubin was 17.72 ±4.5 mg/dl. Causes of PJ were breast milk jaundice (%56.3), urinary tract infections (10.4%), blood group (ABO) incompatibility (6.9%), glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency (G6PDD) (5.9%), hypothyroidism (3.7%), Crikler- Najjar syndrome (2.1%), congenital heart disease (1.3%), and other causes (4.4%).

Conclusion: The results of this study showed that in the infants with prolonged jaundice after complete history and physical examination, detection and treatment of urinary tract infections, blood group incompatibility, G6PD deficiency and hypothyroidism should be taken into consideration. Severity of hyperbilirubinemia in UTI and hypothyroidism is low.

Keywords: Prolonged jaundice, Neonatal hypothyroidism, Urinary tract infection.

Received: Jan 18, 2015      Accepted: Jan 30, 2016