Bilirubin is a waste product of hemoglobin catabolism that is excreted via the liver in bile.  Abnormal accumulation of this yellow pigment in blood results in jaundice. For adults and children, increased serum bilirubin and resulting jaundice is most commonly a signal of liver or biliary-tract disease; whilst for...

Umbilical-cord blood gas analysis provides objective evidence of the metabolic status of neonates at the time of delivery. Perinatal metabolic acidosis is indicative of hypoxia (sometimes the result of asphyxia during birth) and associated risk of permanent brain damage.  A recently published study sought to assess...

Reduced blood glucose concentration (hypoglycemia) is one of the most common metabolic problems during the neonatal period. It may cause acute non-specific symptoms that include altered level of consciousness, feeding difficulties, seizures and even coma.  Irrespective of the presence or absence of acute symptoms,...

When monitoring the plasma/serum sodium concentration of sick newborn babies in neonatal intensive care units, it may be preferable to use direct ion-specific electrode (ISE) methodology incorporated in point-of-care analyzers (including blood gas analyzers), rather than the indirect ISE methodology commonly employed...

Many authors contend that drawing of umbilical ABGs is a simple method to evaluate the condition of the neonate and ideally would be routinely done for all newborns [13]. Other authors disagree. Appropriate general principles guide clinicians when drawing and interpreting ABGs for all patients. The special needs of...

Serum bilirubin estimation, which has for some years now been available on point-of-care analyzers, including blood gas analyzers, is probably the most frequently requested blood test in neonatal medicine.  This is because increased serum/plasma bilirubin concentration (hyperbilirubinemia) and consequent jaundice is...

For a number of years point-of-care blood lactate measurement has been used to predict outcome for patients suffering a range of critical illnesses. Now a recently published study suggests that this predictive value of lactate measurement can also be usefully applied to very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) neonates born...

Increased serum bilirubin, clinically manifest as jaundice, is very common during the first week of life, affecting around 60 % of full-term babies and 85 % of babies born prematurely. For the vast majority this neonatal jaundice is a mild transitory phenomenon with no long-term consequences. The greatest fear...

Most babies born prematurely have respiratory problems and require assisted ventilation and oxygen therapy to ensure adequate tissue oxygenation. Supplemental oxygen is a double-edged sword for these babies because although of life-preserving benefit, oxygen in excess is toxic.  The principal (but not the only)...

The prognostic value of measuring umbilical cord blood pH at birth is examined in a recent meta-analysis study. Cord blood acidosis (usually defined as cord blood pH <7.0) is considered evidence that the newborn baby was deprived of oxygen during labor, and in some maternity units cord blood pH is used in the...