CORRELATION BETWEEN VALUES OF BILIRUBIN MEASUREMENT BY TRANSCUTANEOUS AND SERUM LEVELS IN TERM NEONATES

Abstract

Abstract

Background: One of the most prevalent reasons for hospitalization within the first week following birth is neonatal jaundice. Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia is a very prevalent illness, affecting 25 to 50% of all newborns and 80% of preterm babies. In India, around 5% of newborns have pathological jaundice1.

OBJECTIVES:

1. To estimate bilirubin levels in neonates using a non-invasive method.


2. To assess the difference between Transcutaneous Bilirubin and Total Serum Bilirubin paired values.

MATERIAL & METHODS: Study Design:  Hospital-based, cross sectional study.  Study area: The study was conducted in the Department of paediatrics, Apollo Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, JubleeHills, Hyderabad, Telangana.  Sample size: Study consisted a total of 192 subjects. Sampling Technique:  Simple Random technique. Study tools and Data collection procedure: An informed written consent was obtained from all the parents of the newborns who were enrolled in the study. From all the newborns, information such as demographic data, day of life, bilirubin values were recorded. Neonates who seem icteric visually were examined by a pediatric resident. If they had the inclusion criteria for the study, their bilirubin levels were measured three times on the sternum for avoiding any bias induced by the bilirubinometer.

Results: The TcB – TSB difference for the paired measurements when the TSB was <15 mg/dL was 1.03 to 1.83 mg/dL. The difference became progressively less positive as the TSB level increased, with TcB – TSB difference of - 5 to 3 mg/dL for the paired measurements when the TSB level was ≥15 mg/dL.

CONCLUSION: The findings in this study suggest that TcB measurements can be used effectively to screen newborn infants for significant hyperbilirubinemia, with TSB measurements reserved for those newborns whose TcB level is above a certain cutoff value (15 mg/dl). We recommend that transcutaneous bilirubinometer can be effectively used as a screening tool to predict bilirubin levels in term babies and can be used to dictate management guidelines.