A bilirubin test measures bilirubin levels in your blood or in your urine. High bilirubin may indicate liver or biliary disease. What does it mean to have high bilirubin?

Understanding the Context

Weโ€™ll go over the meaning, symptoms, and causes of high bilirubin levels, as well as how to treat it. Bilirubin is a substance produced by the breakdown of red blood cells. Bilirubin (bil-ih-ROO-bin) passes through the liver and is eventually excreted out of the body. Higher than usual levels of bilirubin may mean different types of liver or bile duct problems.

Key Insights

High bilirubin levels can cause jaundice, making your skin and eyes yellow. High bilirubin can be due to blood, liver, or bile duct disorders. If untreated, high bilirubin in newborns can lead to serious problems like brain damage. Bilirubin is an orange-yellow pigment that occurs normally when part of your red blood cells break down. Your liver takes the bilirubin from your blood and changes its chemical makeup so that...

Final Thoughts

In the liver, bilirubin is conjugated with glucuronic acid by the enzyme glucuronyltransferase, first to bilirubin glucuronide and then to bilirubin diglucuronide, making it soluble in water: the conjugated version is the main form of bilirubin present in the "direct" bilirubin fraction. Bilirubin is an orange-yellow bile pigment formed during the normal breakdown of the red blood cells. Learn about the elevated bilirubin level and its problems. Clinical Practice Guideline Revision: Management of Hyperbilirubinemia in the Newborn Infant 35 or More Weeks of Gestation. Pediatrics 2022;150 (3):e2022058859 [Full text] [PubMed]