Relationship between maturation of the skin and electrical skin resistance.

In 16 newborn infants (24 6-39 wk 6 days 830-3390 g) at ages between 0-70 days, the skin's electrical resistance was measured. Over 30 min we sequentially measured direct current resistance between two skin electrodes placed on the abdomen. The resistance was found to be low in very premature infants with gestation ages of 30 wk or less. It increased with both gestational age and postnatal age. In these infants, the resistance measured at 30 min during the first 4 days of life (3.4 +/- 0.3 K omega; mean +/- SD) was significantly less than that found at 20-70 days (8.8 +/- 1.2 k omega; p less than 0.001). The relationship between the infant's electrical skin resistance (y) and the gestational age (x) best fit the exponential formula: y = 7.42 X e0.24x X 10(-4) + 2.74. This formula shows that the electrical skin resistance increases exponentially during the last trimester. The measurement of electrical skin resistance is a quantitative method that can be utilized to evaluate the gestational age of infants.