Republic of the PhilippinesTARLAC STATE

UNIVERSITYCollege of Science – Nursing

DepartmentLucinda Campus, Brgy. Ungot, Tarlac City Philippines
2300Tel No.: (045) 493-1865 Fax: (045) 982-0110 website: www/tsu.edu.ph

FOR NCM 109

Unexpected episodes of cyanosis in late

preterm and term neonates prompted
admission to a neonatal care unit

Submitted By:
Bethrice Melegrito
BSN 2B

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for

NCM 109

Submitted To:
Rowena
Clinical Instructor
 TSU NURSING|Level II
LRDR
– Journal Report

The term cyanosis refers to a dark bluish coloring of the skin, mucous
membranes, and nail beds that becomes visible when deoxygenated hemoglobin
(Hb) levels in arterial blood exceed 3-5 g/dl. Because of variables like as skin
color, exposure to light, or the presence of jaundice, it might be difficult to identify
cyanosis in a baby. Because the link between cyanosis and pulse oximetry (SpO2)
is directly connected to hemoglobin content, the % desaturation necessary to
achieve the same degree of cyanosis in an anemic child is greater than in a
polycythemic infant. It is a study of late preterm and term infants admitted to our
neonatal care unit in a tertiary hospital for unexpected episodes of cyanosis that
occurred during rooming-in, with the goal of determining the frequency of these
episodes, the most common associated diseases, and documenting the diagnostic
clinical approach. Cyanosis can arise shortly after delivery or later as an acute
episode, most typically while crying or eating, when tissue oxygenation might drop
even lower. Cyanosis identification in babies is critical because it typically
indicates insufficient peripheral tissue oxygenation and is one of the most accurate
clinical indications of serious disease in infants during the first months of life.
Although cyanosis, hypoxemia, and hypoxia are not synonymous, they are
interrelated, and in clinical practice, cyanosis can reveal the presence of tissue
hypoxia, the pathogenesis of which is frequently due to cardiovascular and
respiratory diseases or to less common pathologies such as hemoglobinopathies.
As a result, the sudden appearance of an episode of cyanosis in a newborn in the
hospital nursery who is expected to be healthy generally prompts his/her admission
to neonatology Although newborn cyanosis episodes are not uncommon, there are
few studies in the literature that report on the epidemiology of this disorder as well
as the diagnostic and therapeutic therapy of these children. Thus, the goal of this
study was to collect data on all late preterm and term infants admitted to our
 TSU NURSING|Level II
LRDR
– Journal Report

neonatal care unit in a tertiary hospital for unexpected episodes of cyanosis that
occurred during rooming-in with mothers in order to evaluate their frequency and
the most common pathologies, as well as document the diagnostic clinical
approach used.

Personal Comment

Thru this article I learnt that theres 1.8/1000 live births unexpected bouts of
cyanosis in newborns with no differences between late preterm and full-term who
were fully roomed-in with mothers, prompting their admission to the neonatal care
unit. Furthermore, the paper said that the majority of cyanosis events happened on
the first day of life, and that the majority of these newborns were released without
a recognized diagnosis.