| Popis: |
Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia is common. However, severe cases require hospitalization. Moreover, significant hyperbilirubinemia (SH) can cause neurological sequelae. Excessive weight loss is associated with newborn jaundice. Newborns generally lose weight during the first 3 days of life before their weight begins to rebound. On this third day total bilirubin (TB) peaks,1 allowing for the possibility that weight variation (WV) during these 3 days could be prognostic of SH. Two studies have evaluated WV measured at both fixed ages and variable ages for the identification of SH. In clinical practice WV is usually only available at variable ages. However, Chang et al do not show measures of discriminant performance. Clinical prediction of SH could be useful in low-resource settings where transcutaneous bilirubinometer is not available. In order to have data to guide us in carrying out subsequent prospective studies, we first performed a retrospective study. |
