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Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia management: a model for change

Journal of Perinatology volume 29, pages S58–S60 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

Currently, active public health surveillance of hyperbilirubinemia and kernicterus is lacking. Recently, the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), a private health care system with an estimated quarter of a million births annually, instituted recommendations to provide universal hyperbilirubinemia screening before discharge for all infants born within their system. Over 98% of the infants born at HCA hospitals were screened within the first year of the recommendations. From May to December 2004, 13 infants were identified with total serum bilirubin (TSB) ⩾30 mg per 100 ml, but that number was reduced in 2006, with only seven infants born in HCA hospitals developing a TSB of ⩾30 mg per 100 ml. This program provides a model for actively monitoring the occurrence of hyperbilirubinemia and for tracking its occurrence, thus improving health care quality for patients while collecting important public health information.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Janet Meyers, Donna Frye and the HCA Perinatal Safety Initiative Clinical Work Groups for their contribution and efforts to prevent kernicterus.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA

    C Lazarus & R N Avchen

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  1. C Lazarus
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  2. R N Avchen
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Correspondence to C Lazarus.

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The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The authors have declared no financial interests.

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Lazarus, C., Avchen, R. Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia management: a model for change. J Perinatol 29 (Suppl 1), S58–S60 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/jp.2008.217

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