Increased serum bilirubin (hyperbilirubinemia) and consequent jaundice are common during the neonatal period. Around 50 % of newborns develop some degree of jaundice, during the first week of life, but for the vast majority this is mild (serum bilirubin peaking no higher than 150-200 µmol/L) and spontaneously resolves ...

Reprinted and translated by permission of Danske Bioanalytikere, dbio from "Fra hæl eller håndryg", by Jytte Kristensen, dbio, vol no 4, 2007, pp 8-11. Copyright 2007 by dbio. Translated by Radiometer Medical ApS. Norwegian and Danish biomedical laboratory scientists disagree on best practice when collecting blood...

Modern blood gas analyzers often have incorporated technology that allows hemoglobin measurement on the same blood sample used to measure pH, pCO₂ and pO₂. Clinicians working in a UK neonatal intensive care department where such an instrument was routinely used for blood gases were keen to exploit the newly available...

Blood gas analysis of umbilical cord blood provides the means for establishing the acid-base status of babies at the time of birth. If there is to be any delay in sampling, the portion of cord from which the sample is to be taken should be double-clamped and thereby isolated from the placenta.  Previous studies have...

Hospital do Coração (HCor) in São Paolo, Brazil is a hospital for cardiac patients, many of whom are children and newborns. Cardiac patients are closely monitored with respect to acid base and blood gases, and even the newborns have several arterial and venous blood samples drawn daily. Dr Alberto Duarte from the...

Pulse oximetry provides the means for continuous non-invasive monitoring of oxygen saturation (SpO₂). Although not currently used for the purpose, recent international guidelines suggest that pulse oximetry may be useful in the assessment of newborns who require urgent resuscitative measures at the time of birth....

Reduced blood glucose (hypoglycemia) is one of the more common metabolic emergencies during the neonatal period, which in a small minority of cases results in permanent brain damage. It remains unclear how low blood glucose concentration must fall for such devastating effect. This gray area of understanding is...

Raised serum bilirubin (hyperbilirubinemia) and consequent jaundice is common during the neonatal period; around half of all newborns become temporarily jaundiced during the first week or two of life. For the vast majority, serum bilirubin peaks no higher than around 250 µmol/L (14.6mg/dL) and jaundice quickly...

Interview Fetal scalp Blood Sampling (FBS) – not exactly wishful thinking for the mother, nor for the obstetrician? The procedure is regarded as cumbersome, the sample quality is questionable and the consequences of the result may be instrumental vaginal delivery or Cesarian Section (CS). acutecaretesting.org has...

Reprinted with permission from Elsevier from "Neonate capillary blood gas reference values", by Jocelyne Cousineau, Suzanne Anctil, Ana Carceller, Monique Gonthier and Edgard E. Delvin, CLINICAL BIOCHEMISTRY, Vol no 38, 2005, pp 905-907. Copyright 2005 by Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. OBJECTIVES Because...