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Utility of measuring direct bilirubin at first 72 h of age in neonates admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit

Journal of Perinatology volume 37, pages 536–540 (2017)Cite this article

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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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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Thomas Jefferson University/Nemours, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    A J Sloane, U S Nawab, D Carola & Z H Aghai

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  1. A J Sloane
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  2. U S Nawab
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  3. D Carola
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  4. Z H Aghai
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Correspondence to Z H Aghai.

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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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