Optimizing timing of bilirubin screening the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Abstract

Background Treatment of neonatal indirect hyperbilirubinemia with phototherapy is necessary for the prevention of kernicterus. Guidelines for the use of phototherapy in infants born at ≥35 weeks’ gestation were published by Bhutani, et al and endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Consensus-based recommendations for phototherapy treatment and exchange transfusion of premature infants were published in 2012 by Maisels, et al. However, there are no published recommendations for the timing of screening for hyperbilirubinemia in NICU patients. In 2012, our Neonatology Division implemented internal guidelines for phototherapy with recommendations for timing of screening serum bilirubin levels, based on the group’s consensus. Five years later, we queried whether these guidelines for screening were …