Report about term infants with severe hyperbilirubinemia undergoing exchange transfusion in Southwestern China during an 11-year period, from 2001 to 2011.

The etiology, peak TSB level before ECT, and time of ECT had a significant impact on the outcome of severe neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. ABO incompatibility was the most common cause of extreme neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. Pathological weight loss could be involved in the development of extreme hyperbilirubinemia with an unidentified cause.