Upcoming webinars

Accredited webinars featuring the industry's leading experts

Shedding light on bilirubin:
Definition, dangers, detection and decisions

Presenter: Dennis Dietzen, PhD, DABCC, FACB

February 29, 2012, 1:00 - 2:00 PM (EST)

Approved for one PACE credit.

Application has been made to the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) for continuing education contact hours for respiratory therapists.

Description

In traffic, yellow means caution. In the newborn nursery, yellow pigmentation likewise demands attention as it signals an increased blood concentration of bilirubin and the potential for irreversible neurologic damage, known as kernicterus. Even in otherwise healthy neonates, bilirubin concentrations can rise quickly and result in delayed discharge or readmission.

Hospitals have become keenly aware that accurate and early bilirubin detection is crucial. Clinical guidelines for managing hyperbilirubinemia are well established but hinge on accurate, precise, and rapid laboratory methods.

Measurement options include chemical detection in serum or plasma, along with newer methods that utilize the unique spectral qualities of bilirubin assessed through the skin or in small volumes of whole blood. The selection of a measurement technique has important ramifications for the clinical interpretation of serum bilirubin concentrations both prior to and after initiation of therapy.

This valuable webinar will explore the chemistry and metabolism of bilirubin and clarify the importance of its rapid and accurate detection.

Who should attend?

Lab professionals, point of care coordinators, respiratory therapists, pediatric clinicians including PICU and NICU nurses

This FREE webinar will:

Review the chemistry and metabolism of bilirubin
Illustrate the clinical utility of total bilirubin measurement in pediatric patients
Identify and examine various methods used to measure bilirubin
Explain the characteristics of serum, transcutaneous, and whole blood bilirubin measurement
Identify situations which dictate measurement of fractionated as well as total bilirubin
Propose a path to improving the detection and differentiation of pediatric biliary disease

Dennis Dietzen, PhD, DABCC, FACB, is Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Pathology at Washington University where he directs the Core Laboratory and Metabolic Genetics Laboratory at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Dr. Dietzen’s research is devoted to the assessment and improvement of existing clinical diagnostic tests and in exploiting novel biomarkers for pediatric disease.