Abstract
Objective:
To assess the utility of measuring direct bilirubin (DB) during the first 72 h of life in infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
Study design:
Infants born between May 2006 and June 2013, and admitted to the NICU were included. Abnormal DB was defined as: DB level⩾1 mg dl−1 with a corresponding TB of ⩽5 mg dl−1 or DB level >20% of the corresponding TB>5 mg dl−1.
Results:
The DB levels were measured in 3715 infants during the first 72 h of life. Sixty-three infants (1.7%) had abnormal DB. In a number of infants with potentially treatable diseases (biliary atresia and choledochal cyst), the only abnormal finding was a mildly elevated DB (1 to 2 mg dl−1) during the first 3 days of life. In 22 infants (35%), the cause for high DB was unknown (16%) or not investigated (19%).
Conclusions:
Routine measurement of DB in neonates admitted to NICU may be helpful in identifying potentially treatable causes of cholestasis.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Institutional Development Award (IDeA; Aghai) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under grant number U54-GM104941 (PI: Binder-Macleod) and NIH COBRE P30GM114736 (PI: Thomas H Shaffer).
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Sloane, A., Nawab, U., Carola, D. et al. Utility of measuring direct bilirubin at first 72 h of age in neonates admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit. J Perinatol 37, 536–540 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/jp.2016.259
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/jp.2016.259
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