Correlation of transcutaneous and serum bilirubin levels in late preterm and term neonates at a tertiary care center in south India

Background Neonatal jaundice is one of the most prevalent conditions during first week of life causing morbidity and even mortality in few, especially in low – middle income countries. Although visual inspection for jaundice has been a time tested method, serum bilirubin is the gold standard investigation of choice. Due to this, newborns receive many heel or vein pricks for testing, hence the transcutaneous bilirubinometer can be a helpful non-invasive tool for diagnosing jaundice requiring phototherapy. Methods This prospective study was carried out in a tertiary care hospital in Mangalore, Karnataka to compare a non invasive method of detecting bilirubin levels and serum bilirubin levels. Performance of a transcutaneous bilirubinometer Dräger Jaundice Meter JM-105 was assessed against routine venous serum bilirubin testing before phototherapy during neonatal care in the first two weeks of life. Results were derived by analysing the correlation coefficient between two methods and direct agreement was analysed using Bland Altman analysis. Results Total of 271 neonates (>35 weeks) were included in the study. Transcutaneous bilirubinometry and serum bilirubin values were done on all of them in the first week of life. Correlation analysis showed significant relationship with a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.629. Values of transcutaneous bilirubinometer showed excellent agreement with venous serum bilirubin concentration in Bland Altman analysis. Conclusions The transcutaneous bilirubinometer is a reliable tool to screen neonates and identify those needing phototherapy there by reducing invasive blood sampling.