The diagnosis and management of jaundice.

Although the problems of at least 80% of patients presenting with jaundice lend themselves to accurate diagnosis by conventional clinical and laboratory findings, the remainder present an ever-increasing problem. The widespread and often indiscriminate use of many drugs has made the diagnosis of jaundice more difficult. It is now well established that many of these substances may effect liver function in a very selective fashion, resulting in a pattern of laboratory findings similar to those usually associated with surgical lesions of the biliary tree.By reviewing the newer concepts of bilirubin metabolism, the physician is in a better position to avoid these pitfalls. Since 1953, when the role of the liver in conjugation of bilirubin with glucuronic acid was defined, considerable revision in our previous concepts of bilirubin metabolism has taken place. The enzymatic activity of glucuronyl transferase and the conditions which arise in the presence of a deficiency of this enzyme have now defined a whole series of previously poorly understood jaundiced states.The problem presented by the jaundiced newborn is discussed at some length. Similarly, jaundice of long standing in the elderly debilitated adult is also discussed. The author feels that laparotomy with liver biopsy and/or cholangiography are of definite value in the management of these problems.