A survey of newborn babies admitted for the treatment of jaundice

Reducing the number of full term infants admitted into neonatal units is a priority for the NHS. Neonatal jaundice is the fourth most common reason for a term admission into a neonatal unit and the most common reason for admission from home. This article considers the findings of a three-month retrospective national survey of practice aimed at understanding variation in admission processes and management of term newborn babies admitted with jaundice from home.

Ingrid Marsden
Neonatal Matron, Surrey and Sussex NHS Trust
i.marsden@nhs.net

Sara Cuming
Clinical Audit Facilitator, Surrey and Sussex NHS Trust

Janet M. Rennie
Consultant in Neonatal Medicine, University College Hospitals London

Stephanie Michaelides
Senior Lecturer, Middlesex University

On behalf of the Jaundice Working Group of the ATAIN programme led by the Patient Safety Team in NHS Improvement

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Keywords

neonatal jaundice; newborn; term admission; infant feeding; transcutaneous bilirubinometer

Also published in Infant:

VOLUME 15/ISSUE 4, JULY 2019

Phototherapy at home for the treatment of neonatal jaundice: a patient-centred pilot project

Phototherapy is a well-established procedure and the mainstay of treatment for significant neonatal jaundice. Usually, phototherapy is delivered in hospital, typically requiring a hospital stay of a few days. This article describes a pilot project to introduce phototherapy for the management of neonatal jaundice in clinically stable preterm and term infants with haemolytic disease of the newborn using a phototherapy blanket at home.