Facts About Hyperbilirubinemia in Adults
An adult experiencing hyperbilirubinemia develops jaundice due to excess bilirubin circulating in his blood. Bilirubin forms when old red blood cells get metabolized by the liver, and hyperbilirubinemia may signal that a person has a serious disease.
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Physical Causes
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Common causes of hyperbilirubinemia in adults include alcohol abuse, liver disease and swelling, gallstones and pancreatic cancer.
Pharmaceutical Causes
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Antibiotics such as erythromycin and penicillin analogs, oral contraceptives, steroids, cimetidine (like Tagamet from GlaxoSmithKline), imipramine (like Tofranil from Tyco), gold salts, nitrofurantoin (like Macrobid from Procter & Gamble), and sulindac (like Clinoril from Merck) can also cause hyperbilirubinemia.
Symptoms
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The most common--and usually only--symptom of hyperbilirubinemia is yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes. Patients with drug-induced hyperbilirubinemia may also experience itching, nausea, pale stools, dark urine rash and fever.
What Hyperbilirubinemia Can Mean
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Hyperbilirubinemia in adults may indicate anemia, a transfusion reaction, bile duct cancer or infection, blockage of the bile duct, blood clotting, cirrhosis, congenital bilirubin metabolism disorder (Gilbert's disease), hepatitis or too much copper in the blood (Wilson's disease).
Treatment
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Resolving hyperbilirubinemia in adults requires treating the cause of the condition.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
