Assessment, management, and incidence of neonatal jaundice in healthy neonates cared for in primary care: a prospective cohort study | Scientific Reports - Nature.com
Abstract Jaundice caused by hyperbilirubinaemia is a common phenomenon during the neonatal period. Population-based studies evaluating assessment, management, and incidence of jaundice and need for phototherapy among otherwise healthy neonates are scarce. We prospectively explored these aspects in a primary care setting via assessing care as usual during the control phase of a stepped wedge cluster randomised controlled trial. We conducted a prospective cohort study embedded in the Screening and TreAtment to Reduce Severe Hyperbilirubinaemia in Infants in Primary care (STARSHIP) Trial. Healthy neonates were included in seven primary care birth centres (PCBCs) in the Netherlands between July 2018 and March 2020. Neonates were eligible for inclusion if their gestational age was ≥ 35 weeks, they were admitted in a PCBC for at least 2 days during the first week of life, and if they did not previously receive phototherapy. Outcomes were the findings of visual assessment t