Newborn skin reflection: Proof of concept for a new approach for predicting gestational age at birth. A cross-sectional study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Current methods to assess the gestational age during prenatal care or at birth are a global challenge. Disadvantages, such as low accessibility, high costs, and imprecision of clinical tests and ultrasonography measurements, may compromise health decisions at birth, based on the gestational age. Newborns' organs and tissues can indirectly indicate their physical maturity, and we hypothesized that evolutionary changes in their skin, detected using an optoelectronic device meter, may aid in estimating the gestational age. This study analyzed the feasibility of using newborn skin reflectance to estimate the gestational age at birth noninvasively.

Methods and findings

A cross-sectional study evaluated the skin reflectance of selected infants, preferably premature, at

SUBMITTER: Reis ZSN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5607181 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature