Predicting insensible water loss in premature neonates.

The insensible water loss from the skin of premature neonates in various environments can be estimated by modeling the skin as a composite membrane and applying Fick's law to each layer. Studies involving human skin development have made it possible to apply the proposed model to predict an infant's insensible water loss as a function of gestational age and postnatal age. However, the model tends to overestimate the insensible water loss particularly for gestational ages over 28 weeks. Values used in the model for the diffusivity of water through the stratum corneum were determined from adult skin rather than neonatal skin, which may be a factor in the overestimation.