title: Bilirubin, intraventricular hemorrhage, and phenobarbital in very low birth weight babies.
abstract: The relationships among serum bilirubin concentration on days 5 and 7, birth weight, the presence of intraventricular hemorrhage, and the receipt of phenobarbital were examined in a group of 232 newborns weighing less than 1,751 g who were intubated, mechanically ventilated by 12 hours after birth, and whose parents had given permission for a randomized trial of phenobarbital prophylaxis of intraventricular hemorrhage. The ratio of serum bilirubin concentration to birth weight (the bilirubin divided by birth weight index [BBI]) was used to examine the impact of 25 variables on a clinical guideline for therapy of hyperbilirubinemia in newborn infants. A linear regression model was used; the most powerful covariate was a birth weight less than 1.0 kg. The only other variable that reduced the BBI was phenobarbital receipt. The presence of intraventricular hemorrhage and ecchymoses had a significant influence increasing the BBI.
authors.affiliation: Department of Newborn Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Epstein
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leviton
authors.forename: K C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Kuban
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pagano
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Meltzer
authors.forename: H N
authors.initials: HN
authors.lastname: Skouteli
authors.forename: E R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: K F
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Sullivan
mesh_terms: D001663:Bilirubin / Q000097:blood*; D001724:Birth Weight; D002543:Cerebral Hemorrhage / Q000097:blood* / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D010634:Phenobarbital / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D001663:Bilirubin; D010634:Phenobarbital