Jaundice: Etiology, Clinical Manifestations, Diagnosis, Management, Nursing Care, and Prevention

Year : 2026 | Volume : 16 | Issue : 01 | Page : 32 39
    By

    Ruby Bhadoriya,

  1. Researcher, Department of Medicine, Galgotias University, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India

Abstract

Jaundice is a significant clinical condition marked by a yellow discoloration of the skin, sclera, and mucous membranes resulting from increased bilirubin levels in the bloodstream. Rather than being a disease itself, jaundice represents an underlying disorder involving the liver, biliary system, or hematological processes. Hyperbilirubinemia develops when there is excessive bilirubin production, impaired hepatic uptake, defective conjugation, or obstruction in bile excretion. Jaundice remains a major global health concern owing to its association with viral hepatitis, alcoholic liver disease, hemolytic disorders, metabolic conditions, malignancies, and neonatal physiological immaturity. If not recognized and managed promptly, jaundice can lead to serious complications, such as hepatic failure, encephalopathy, coagulopathy, and kernicterus in neonates. Nursing professionals play a pivotal role in early identification, monitoring, patient education, supportive care, and prevention. This article provides a comprehensive and detailed review of jaundice, including its etiology, pathophysiology, clinical manifestations, diagnostic evaluation, medical, and surgical management, nursing care, complications, and preventive strategies, with special emphasis on the nursing perspective.

Keywords: Bilirubin metabolism, hepatitis, hyperbilirubinemia, jaundice, liver disorders, neonatal jaundice, nursing management, obstructive jaundice

[This article belongs to Research and Reviews: A Journal of Medicine ]

How to cite this article:
Ruby Bhadoriya. Jaundice: Etiology, Clinical Manifestations, Diagnosis, Management, Nursing Care, and Prevention. Research and Reviews: A Journal of Medicine. 2026; 16(01):32-39.
How to cite this URL:
Ruby Bhadoriya. Jaundice: Etiology, Clinical Manifestations, Diagnosis, Management, Nursing Care, and Prevention. Research and Reviews: A Journal of Medicine. 2026; 16(01):32-39. Available from: https://journals.stmjournals.com/rrjom/article=2026/view=240099


References

  1. World Health Organization. Jaundice: Causes, symptoms and management. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2025. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hepatitis-%EF%BD%82?utm_source=chatgpt.com.
  2. Park K. Park’s textbook of preventive and social medicine. 27th ed. Jabalpur: Bhanot Publishers; 2023.
  3. Mayo Clinic. Jaundice: Symptoms and causes [Internet]. Rochester (MN): Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; 2024 [cited 2025 Jan]. Available from: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/infant-jaundice/symptoms-causes/syc-20373865.
  4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hepatitis and jaundice [Internet]. Atlanta (GA): CDC; 2024 [cited 2025 Jan]. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/about/index.html.
  5. StatPearls Publishing. Jaundice. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK544252/.
  6. European Association for the Study of the Liver. EASL clinical practice guidelines on the management of liver diseases in pregnancy. J Hepatol. 2023;79(3):768–828. doi: 10.1016/j.jhep.2023.03.006.
  7. American Liver Foundation. Understanding liver diseases [Internet]. New York (NY): American Liver Foundation; 2024 [cited 2026 Feb 28]. Available from: https://liverfoundation.org/about-your-liver/.
  8. Xiao-Ning Wu, Feng Xue, Nan Zhang, et al. Global burden of liver cirrhosis and other chronic liver diseases caused by specific etiologies from 1990 to 2021. BMC Gastroenterol. 2025;25:641. doi: 10.1186/s12876-025-04264-5. Available from: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12876-025-04264-5.
  9. Fargo MV, Grogan SP, Saguil A. Evaluation of jaundice in adults. Am Fam Physician. 2017;95(3):164–168. PMID: 28145671.
  10. Singh A, Gupta S. Obstructive jaundice: Diagnosis and management. Int J Surg Sci. 2024;8(1):45–52.
  11. United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Newborn mortality [Internet]. New York (NY): UNICEF; 2024 [cited 2026 Feb 28]. Available from: https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-survival/neonatal-mortality/.
  12. Kumar P, Clark M. Kumar and Clark’s clinical medicine. 10th ed. London: Elsevier; 2024.
  13. Chatterjee S. Textbook of medical biochemistry. 7th ed. New Delhi: Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers; 2023.
  14. British Liver Trust. Alcohol and liver disease [Internet]. London: British Liver Trust; 2024 [cited 2025 Jan]. Available from: https://britishlivertrust.org.uk/information-and-support/risks-and-causes/alcohol/.
  15. World Health Organization. Global hepatitis report 2024. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2024. Available from: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240091672.
  16. Jameson JL, Fauci AS, Kasper DL, Hauser SL, Loscalzo J, editors. Harrison’s principles of internal medicine. 21st ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Education; 2022.
  17. Brunton LL, Hilal-Dandan R, Knollmann BC, editors. Goodman & Gilman’s the pharmacological basis of therapeutics. 14th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Education; 2023.
  18. Kumar V, Abbas AK, Aster JC. Robbins and Cotran pathologic basis of disease. 10th ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier; 2020.
  19. Feldman M, Friedman LS, Brandt LJ, editors. Sleisenger and Fordtran’s gastrointestinal and liver disease. 11th ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier; 2021.
  20. Li J, Chen S, Wang X, Zhang Y, Liu H, Patel K, et al. Current and emerging therapeutic landscape for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2025;10(5):321–330. doi: 10.1016/S2468-1253(25)00260-2. Available from: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langas/article/PIIS2468-1253(25)00260-2/abstract.
  21. Goel YS, Prajapati A. Brief overview of jaundice and its current treatment options. Int J Pharmaceutics Drug Anal. 2021;11(3):556. doi: 10.47957/ijpda.v11i3.556.
  22. Bhadoria AS, Saxena G, Pandey P, et al. Preventive hepatology at AIIMS Rishikesh: Delivering comprehensive and integrated care for liver diseases in Northern state of India. J Family Med Prim Care. 2024;13(1):28–35. doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_1536_23.
  23. Ralston SH, Penman ID, Strachan MWJ, Hobson RP, editors. Davidson’s principles and practice of medicine. 24th ed. Edinburgh: Elsevier; 2022.
  24. Zipes DP, Libby P, Bonow RO, Mann DL, Tomaselli GF, editors. Braunwald’s heart disease: A textbook of cardiovascular medicine. 12th ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier; 2022.
  25. Ramírez-Mejía MM, Castillo-Castañeda SM, Pal SC, Qi X, Méndez-Sánchez N. The multifaceted role of bilirubin in liver disease: A literature review. J Clin Transl Hepatol. 2024;12(11):939–948. Available from: https://doi.org/10.14218/JCTH.2024.00156.
  26. Solé-Navais P, Juodakis J, Ytterberg K, Wu X, Bradfield JP, Vaudel M, LaBella AL, Helgeland Ø, Flatley C, Geller F, Finel M, Zhao M, Lazarus P, Hakonarson H, Magnus P, Andreassen OA, Njølstad PR, Grant SFA, Feenstra B, Muglia LJ, Johansson S, Zhang G, Jacobsson B. Genome-wide analyses of neonatal jaundice reveal a marked departure from adult bilirubin metabolism. Nat Commun. 2024;15:7550. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-51947-w. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-51947-w.
  27. Patel A, Vagha JD, Meshram RJ, Taksande A, Khandelwal R, Jain A, et al. Illuminating progress: A comprehensive review of the evolution of phototherapy for neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. Cureus. 2024 Mar 5;16(3):e55608. doi: 10.7759/cureus.55608. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38586621/.
  28. Kumbhar S, Musale M, Jamsa A. Bilirubin metabolism: Cellular and molecular mechanisms. Egypt J Intern Med. 2024;36:34. Available from: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s43162-024-00298-5.
  29. Lewis SL, Bucher L, Heitkemper MM, Harding MM. Lewis’s medical-surgical nursing. 11th ed. St. Louis: Elsevier; 2023.
  30. Hinkle JL, Cheever KH. Brunner & Suddarth’s textbook of medical-surgical nursing. 15th ed. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer; 2022.

Regular Issue Subscription Review Article
Volume 16
Issue 01
Received 24/11/2025
Accepted 29/01/2026
Published 28/02/2026
Publication Time 96 Days


Login


My IP

PlumX Metrics