Background and Aim: Urinary tract infection is a common clinical problem in children under 8 weeks of ages. Studies in this area indicate that the first sign of bacterial infection in neonates may be ICTERUS. Our goal in this study is to determine the relationship between urinary tract infection and ICTERUS in neonates admitted because of this condition.Materials and Methods: This is a prospective study conducted on neonates less than 4 weeks of age who were hospitalized because of neonatal ICTERUS in Milad Hospital. Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) is defined as any number of pathogens found to grow on culture medium obtained by suprapubic puncture. Other information including birth weight and laboratory results are recorded on designed question sheets.Results: Sixteen cases out of 90 cases had urinary tract infection (18%).The prevalence of UTI in neonates with more than 7 days of age (27.2%) was significantly more than its prevalence in neonates within their first week of age (14.2%). Urinalysis (U/A) in 5 cases of urinary tract infection (38%) was abnormal. Meanwhile 73% with urinary tract infection (12 cases) at the time of admission did not show any sign except ICTERUS.Conclusion: About 18% of the icteric neonates have urinary tract infections. Therefore it is recommended to investigate UTI (as a part of study) in icteric babies, even in the absence of any other marker.

Background & Objectives: Benign neonatal ICTERUS is a common problem in preterm and term neonates. At present current treatments are phototherapy, exchange transfusion and use of certain food products including herbal medicines. In some countries, traditional medicine is being used to relieve ICTERUS. Manna and Milk are among the herbals used to reduce ICTERUS in Persian traditional medicine. The purpose of this review is to discuss and investigate into the effect of herbal medicines on the neonatal ICTERUS.Materials and Methods: This work was done by referring to the related text books, scientific sites and review of the literature concerning the effects of herbal medicines and icter.Results: This review was conducted by searching in Google scholar, Pub med and med line. Finally 23 articles were included and studied. Data was analyzed and edited.Conclusion: According to the results of the previous studies herbal medicines fail to cure icterur alone, but it could be useful along with routine treatments such as phototherapy

Objective: Hyperbilirubinemia has been considered one of the most common clinical conditions in newborn babies. As a traditional medicine, chicory distillate may be beneficial in reducing bilirubin. This randomized, double‑, blind clinical trial was conducted to determine the effect of chicory extract on hyperbilirubinemia in neonates. Methods: The clinical trial was conducted among 154 participants with hyperbilirubinemia. The study group was selected and randomly divided into the control (n = 77) and intervention (n = 77) groups. In the intervention group, breastfeeding women received a 10% solution of chicory distillate (50 ml every 12 h), whereas, in the control group, the participants received sterile distilled water, 50 ml every 12 h. The infants’,bilirubin level was measured before and 24, 48, and 72 h after the intervention. Fisher’, s exact and Chi‑, square tests were run to examine qualitative data, while a t‑, test was applied for independent variables. Findings: There was a significant difference between the intervention and control groups (P < 0. 001). Within each group, a significant difference was found in bilirubin levels among different sampling times (P < 0. 001). Although the bilirubin levels reduced during the time intervals in both groups, the reduction rate was significantly higher in the intervention group (P < 0. 001). Based on the results, breastfeeding mothers should be aware of including chicory extract in their nutritional programs. Conclusion: Chicory extract consumption in breastfeeding mothers can reduce bilirubin in their neonate

Objectives: To compare the effects of a single dose of clofibrate on the serum bilirubin level in full-term non-hemolytic icteric neonates when it is administered in addition to phototherapy, and to evaluate its possible side effects. Methods: In a randomized-controlled clinical trial in 2016, 90 term icteric neonates were divided into groups of 30. One group took a single dose of 50 mg/kg while another group took a single dose of 100 mg/kg of clofibrate. All neonates were under phototherapy and were compared to a control group who took a placebo. Serum bilirubin levels were measured at admission and then after 6, 12, 24, and 48 hours of treatment. Clofibrate’ s side effects were assessed by measuring hepatic enzymes (AST/ALT) and lipid profiles (TG/Chol) at admission and after 48 hours. Results: In neonates with jaundice who were under phototherapy, a single dose of 100 mg/kg of clofibrate decreased the level of serum bilirubin more rapidly compared to the control group (t (58) =-2. 73, P = 0. 043), or even the group who took a single dose of 50 mg/kg clofibrate (t (58) =-4. 261, P = 0. 000). A single dose of 50 mg/kg clofibrate did not decrease the serum bilirubin levels more rapidly compared to the control group. Compared to the control group, in the group who took a single dose of 50 mg/kg clofibrate, after 48 hours, a higher number of neonates showed an increase in serum triglyceride (30% versus 63%) and/or cholesterol levels (27% versus 57%). Conclusions: A single dose of 100 (not 50) mg/kg clofibrate better decreased the serum bilirubin.

Background and Aim: Herbal medicines have been used commonly as a traditional therapeutic method for treatment of medical disorders. Previous studies had shown that purgative manna (Shirkhesht) can be used for the treatment of infantile ICTERUS; however no study has been performed on the preventive effects of this herb on infantile ICTERUS. This study was conducted to evaluate the preventive effects of purgative manna on neonatal ICTERUS.Material and Methods: This was a double blind clinical trial and included neonates born in Besat Hospital, in Sanandaj. Patients were divided into two groups on the basis of blocked randomization. Twenty four hours after birth, five drops of oral purgative manna drop (BiliNaster produced by Sobhan Co.) was given to the intervention group three times a day, for three days and a placebo produced by the same company was given to the infants in the control group with the same dose for three days. Bilirubin was measured every day from the third to fifth days.Results: This study included 140 neonates. Intervention and control groups had no significant difference in regard to basic variables such as sex, type of birth, and bilirubin. 11 neonates (15.7%) in purgative manna group and 15 neonates (21.4%) in placebo group had developed ICTERUS which showed no significant difference (p=0.38). In addition, the mean values of bilirubin measured in the control and intervention groups from the third to fifth days were 12.2 mg/deciliter ( ±2) and 12.5 mg/deciliter (±1.9) respectively which had no significant statistical difference (p=0.54).Conclusion: According to the results of this study, use of five drops of purgative manna three times a day, for three days, did not have any preventive effect on neonatal ICTERUS between the third and fifth days after birth. Some studies have showed the effectiveness of this drug in preventing neonatal ICTERUS, but we did not observe such effect in our study.

Background: Although phototherapy has been used for more than 60 years it has some complications. The light waves produced from phototherapy reduce melatonin concentration in newborns with subsequent hypocalcemia. We aimed to assess the effect of head covering on calcium and magnesium levels in full term newborns during phototherapy.Methods: In this randomized controlled trial, 72 full-term ICTERUS newborns weighing>2500 gr with indirect hyperbillirubinemia who received phototherapy at the phototherapy ward of Moslemin Hospital, Shiraz, southwest Iran, during March to September 2010 were recruited and divided randomly into two groups. The neonates in the case group received phototherapy while wearing a hat, while phototherapy was performed without hats for the control group. The newborns were in perfect health during the tests. The calcium and magnesium levels of each newborn were tested at baseline, and 24 hours after phototherapy and 48 after treatment. The variables were compared using Student’s t, Chi-square and repeat measurement tests.Results: 14 (38.8%) newborns in the control group and 5 (13.8%) in the case group had hypocalcemia after phototherapy. A significant difference was found between the incidence of hypocalcemia in these two groups (P=0.03). However, magnesium levels did not change significantly (P>0.05).Conclusion: Phototherapy caused hypocalcemia but it had no effect on magnesium levels. This can be prevented by covering the head during phototherapy with no need for prophylactic administration of calcium.

The study population consisted of 500 healthy newly born babies admitted to the newborn nursery of Shari'ati Hospital in Tehran. All infants were icteric and their birth weight was 1500gr or more. None of the infants had been exposed to phototherapy or has had blood exchange transfusion before measurement. All measurements were obtained within the first two weeks of life.The investigation showed that a caudal progress of ICTERUS corresponds to an increasing serum bilirubin concentration. Significant linear correlation (r=0.808) existed between yellow color of the skin and serum bilirubin concentration, furthermore, the relationship did not depend on age, sex, birth weight of infants and the rate of serum bilirubin rise.

Aflatoxin intoxication has been reported in most species; however, it is infrequently documented in sheep. In this report, three 7-month-old Romane ewe lambs were found with severe ICTERUS, tachypnea, slight fever, diarrhea, anorexia, and lethargy. Two of them were culled, and one recovered after treatment. Necropsy findings showed jaundice, ascites, diffuse hemorrhage on the peritoneum, gall bladder enlargement, and alteration in the color and texture of the liver and kidney. Histopathological evaluation revealed hepatocellular necrosis, megalocytosis, centrilobular to bridging fibrosis in the liver, and hemoglobinuria without nephrotic degeneration in the kidney. The polymerase chain reaction test for leptospirosis as the main differential diagnosis was conducted, and the result was negative. Similarly, the Warthin Starry special staining for spirochetes was negative. Clinical signs and characteristics of microscopic lesions were suggestive of aflatoxicosis in the lambs described in this investigation. As sheep flocks with intensive rearing systems are becoming more common in Iran, the emergence of aflatoxicosis due to fungi-contaminated feedstuff can be a serious health concern in such farms.

Background: There might be a close link between neonatal ICTERUS and/or neonatal phototherapy and childhood asthma. The present study aimed to assess the relationship between neonatal ICTERUS and/or phototherapy and the likelihood of childhood asthma among Iranian population. Materials and Methods The present case-control study was performed on 102 consecutive asthmatic children hospitalized at Children’ s Medical Center, Tehran, Iran. Asthma was diagnosed by a pediatric asthma and allergy specialist based on clinical manifestations and/or spirometry results for children older than 5 years. A total of 113 sex and age-matched children without asthma who were admitted to other wards during the same period of time were selected as the control group. Data were collected by a researcher-made checklist including data regarding participants’ age, gender, and gestational age, history of neonatal ICTERUS and history and duration of phototherapy, filled by participants’ parents/guardians. Results: There was a significant difference between cases and controls with respect to preterm birth, history of phototherapy and duration of phototherapy. History of ICTERUS was not associated with childhood asthma. In the multivariable logistic regression model, both history of phototherapy (P=0. 029), and duration of phototherapy (P=0. 03) were considered as determinants for occurrence of childhood asthma. Conclusion According to the results, history of neonatal ICTERUS was not associated with childhood asthma, but history and duration of phototherapy were both determinants of childhood asthma.