Transcutaneous bilirubinometer in assessment of neonatal jaundice in northern India.

Transcutaneous bilirubinometry measures the intensity of yellow color in the skin and subcutaneous tissue and correlates it with the serum bilirubin concentration in newborn infants(1). It is reported to be safe, simple, objective, reproducible, cost effective, noninvasive modality in the screening and monitoring of jaundiced newborn infants. A significant correlation has been found between serum bilirubin and TcB index (TcBI) in various ethnic groups by various authors. But the correlation is affected by gestational age, use of phototherapy, birth weight, color of skin, degree of jaundice and race(2-6). Previous studies of this region either have comparatively limited number of observations or lack mention of range of bilirubin observed(5,6). Moreover, considering variations in reported intercept in regression lines for different races(3), there is a need for separate regression equation for different regions. We evaluated transcutaneous bilirubin (TcB) over a wide range of bilirubin, to find out the correlation of TcBI with serum bilirubin levels in term, pre-term, small for gestation age babies, with and without phototherapy in neonates with jaundice in Shimla region. Another aim was to evaluate the TcB as a screening device for neonatal hyperbilirubinemia by finding the action levels for TcBI at forehead and sternum at which sample for serum bilirubin estimation should be taken.