If a newborn has been on formula for the last 36-48 hours, the nurse should give the newborn a screening for PKU. The answer is Screening for PKU.
The other things are often not needed; vitamin K injections are routine in most American hospitals, if not all of them at this point. The other two options are not of serious concern unless the mother or father have had issues with this in their childhood.
The reason a nurse needs to screen for PKU is because there’s an acid in the formulas called phenylalanine. This amino acid is needed for life, but too much could indicate a lack of a liver enzyme. If a nurse doesn’t screen for this between the aforementioned hours of having formula, it could be bad for the newborn.
By now the newborn will have ingested an ample amount of the amino acid phenylalanine. which. if not metabolized because of a lack of the liver enzyme. can deposit injurious metabolites into the bloodstream and brain; early detection can determine if the liver enzyme is absent.
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