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Percutaneous Absorption in Preterm Infants
Author(s) -
West Dennis P.,
Halket John M.,
Harvey David R.,
Hadgraft Jonathan,
Solomon Lawrence M.,
Harper John I.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
pediatric dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.542
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1525-1470
pISSN - 0736-8046
DOI - 10.1111/j.1525-1470.1987.tb00785.x
Subject(s) - medicine , gestational age , absorption (acoustics) , gestation , pediatrics , obstetrics , pregnancy , genetics , physics , acoustics , biology
Abstract: The skin of preterm infants varies considerably in its level of maturity. To understand skin absorption in premature infants better, we report a technique for the assessment of percutaneous absorption at various gestational and postnatal ages using stable, isotope‐labeled ( 13 C 6 ) benzoic acid. Our results indicate that in the preterm infant, this method detects enhanced skin absorption in the first postnatal days, which declines over three weeks to that expected of a full‐term infant. This approach also indicates an inverse relationship between gestational age and skin absorption, as well as postnatal age and skin absorption. The reported technique is a safe and noninvasive method using a model skin penetrant for the study of percutaneous absorption in preterm infants from which basic data may be derived to add to our understanding of skin barrier function.