Painless tests for premature babies. Mariupol

The jaundice of newborns is the appearance of visible yellow discoloration of the skin, mucous membranes, sclera of the baby due to the increase of bilirubin in the blood of the newborn. In 80% of premature infants, due to the increase of bilirubin content in the blood, jaundice develops and needs to be treated, otherwise the small undeveloped liver may refuse at any time. This requires special equipment (phototherapy lamps).

In most cases, jaundice manifests itself in the first 3 days of the child's life, proceeds favorably and is regarded as a "physiological state", as it is more often due to the peculiarities of the child's development and metabolism during this period of life. As a rule, it manifests itself during the first 3-5 days of a child's life and lasts up to 14 days in term infants and up to 21 days in premature infants born with low weight. This type of jaundice is not dangerous for the baby.

However, in some cases too much bilirubin can be formed in the baby's blood, which can be dangerous for him. This condition is referred to as "pathological jaundice". In this case, the level of bilirubin in the blood rises to high numbers, which can lead to complications that will primarily affect the nervous system and the brain. How to recognize physiological and pathological jaundice? For this purpose there are special devices called "translucent bilirubinometers". It is a compact device for transdermal measurement of bilirubin in newborns.

Because of skin measurements, bilirubin is a non-invasive and, therefore, painless alternative to traditional blood tests. There is no need for blood sampling from a patient, which is a great stress for toddlers and their parents. The result of the analysis is known within seconds. In combination with other clinical symptoms, this allows in the short term to make the right decision on the choice of further tactics of patient management.

Such a device is very needed for the intensive care unit of newborns of the Child and Women's Health Clinic (Mariupol, Ukraine). Let's all together help doctors quickly and painlessly identify such insidious enemy as bilirubin!