Purpose: The study was conducted to measure stratum corneum hydration (SCH) and pH (SCP) in high-risk newborns in the early postnatal period and to explore the features related to patterns of change in those parameters. Methods: SCH and SCP were measured on the dorsal hand in 99 hospitalized newborns during the first 14 days of life and the results were analyzed using a general linear model. Results: The mean hydration was 42.9% on day 1, which decreased to 34.6% by 2 weeks (F=15.61, p=<.001).

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... n association was observed between SCH and prematurity (F=21.12, p<.001), as well as for their interaction (F=8.11, p<.001). The mean SCP was 6.2±0.3 on day 1, and decreased to 5.7±0.2 (F=95.75, p<.001), with no association with prematurity. After adjusting for birth weight, SCH was higher in newborns with vaginal delivery (F=9.07, p=.023) and who received phototherapy (F=11.81, p=.011). For SCP, only delivery type had a significant influence (F=6.40, p=.044). Conclusion: This study suggests that SCH is typically in the 30% range during the early postnatal period, and that an acid mantle on the SC surface is very unlikely to form; these findings could be applied to the nursing process for promoting skin integrity in high-risk neonates. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. 346 | Hydration and pH of the Stratum Corneum in High-risk Newborns in the First 2 Weeks of Life