title: Postnatal changes in skin water content in preterm infants.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Preterm infants have immature skin, which contributes to skin problems. Very little is known about postnatal changes in the skin, despite the clinical importance of this issue.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess temporal changes in skin water content in preterm infants.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective observational study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit were included in this study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Skin water content was measured at five different skin regions using dielectric methods at a depth of 1.5mm. Skin water content was measured on postnatal day 1 in 101 infants, and the correlation between skin water content and gestational week was analyzed. Measurements were also made on postnatal days 2, 3, and 7, and every 7days thereafter until the corrected age of 37weeks in 87 of the 101 infants. Temporal changes were statistically analyzed after dividing participants into seven groups by gestational age.
  
  
  RESULTS
  On postnatal day 1, skin water content correlated inversely with gestational age at all skin regions. Skin water content decreased significantly over time, converging to the level of term infants by the corrected age of 32-35weeks.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Skin water content at a depth of 1.5mm was related to corrected age and reached the level of term infants by the corrected age of approximately 32-35weeks.
authors.affiliation: Division of Neonatal Medicine, Center for Maternal, Fetal and Neonatal Medicine, Saitama Medical Center, Saitama Medical University, Kawagoe, Saitama, Japan. Electronic address: akio-i@k4.dion.ne.jp.
authors.forename: Akio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ishiguro
authors.affiliation: Division of Neonatal Medicine, Center for Maternal, Fetal and Neonatal Medicine, Saitama Medical Center, Saitama Medical University, Kawagoe, Saitama, Japan.
authors.forename: Sumie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fujinuma
authors.affiliation: Division of Neonatal Medicine, Center for Maternal, Fetal and Neonatal Medicine, Saitama Medical Center, Saitama Medical University, Kawagoe, Saitama, Japan.
authors.forename: Yukiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Motojima
authors.affiliation: Division of Neonatal Medicine, Center for Maternal, Fetal and Neonatal Medicine, Saitama Medical Center, Saitama Medical University, Kawagoe, Saitama, Japan.
authors.forename: Shuntaro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Oka
authors.affiliation: Division of Neonatal Medicine, Center for Maternal, Fetal and Neonatal Medicine, Saitama Medical Center, Saitama Medical University, Kawagoe, Saitama, Japan.
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Komaki
authors.affiliation: Division of Neonatal Medicine, Center for Maternal, Fetal and Neonatal Medicine, Saitama Medical Center, Saitama Medical University, Kawagoe, Saitama, Japan.
authors.forename: Aya
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.affiliation: Division of Neonatal Medicine, Center for Maternal, Fetal and Neonatal Medicine, Saitama Medical Center, Saitama Medical University, Kawagoe, Saitama, Japan.
authors.forename: Hidenori
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kawasaki
authors.affiliation: Division of Neonatal Medicine, Center for Maternal, Fetal and Neonatal Medicine, Saitama Medical Center, Saitama Medical University, Kawagoe, Saitama, Japan.
authors.forename: Shunsuke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Araki
authors.affiliation: Division of Neonatal Medicine, Center for Maternal, Fetal and Neonatal Medicine, Saitama Medical Center, Saitama Medical University, Kawagoe, Saitama, Japan.
authors.forename: Masayo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kanai
authors.affiliation: Division of Neonatal Medicine, Center for Maternal, Fetal and Neonatal Medicine, Saitama Medical Center, Saitama Medical University, Kawagoe, Saitama, Japan.
authors.forename: Hisanori
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sobajima
authors.affiliation: Division of Neonatal Medicine, Center for Maternal, Fetal and Neonatal Medicine, Saitama Medical Center, Saitama Medical University, Kawagoe, Saitama, Japan.
authors.forename: Masanori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tamura
mesh_terms: D001834:Body Water / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D012867:Skin / Q000378:metabolism*; D012879:Skin Physiological Phenomena
keywords: Dielectric methods; Newborn; Preterm; Skin care; Skin injury; Water content