208Neonatal jaundice is common in newborns 1 . It is estimated that more than 60% of term babies develop neonatal hyperbilirubinemia and jaundice 1,2,3 . Jaundice is a transient benign physiologic process that affects the majority of newborns because of the delayed hepatic enzyme maturity and the short half-life of the fetal red blood cells 1 . Nevertheless, a significantly high level of hyperbilirubinemia could result in devastating brain damage known as kernicterus. Close monitoring for hyperbilirubinemia in babies during the first ten days of life is very crucial to avoid such complication by providing early therapeutic intervention 2-10 . Serum blood measurement for the total bilirubin level TSB is the gold standard test for bilirubin measurement. Nevertheless, measuring the serum bilirubin is not always convenient for the newborn, the parents and the physician since it requires blood drawing and it is costly 5,6,11,[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] . TcB meters are widely used for screening newborns for jaundice 3,5,9,12 . It is relatively less expensive compared to the cost of TSB measurement 2,5,10.12.20 . Practically, TcB is used as a screening test for newborns with hyperbilirubinemia, and once Objective: To evaluate the relation between the transcutaneous bilirubin (TcB) measurement and the total serum bilirubin (TSB) measurement in the newborns in Bahrain.
Setting: Salmaniya Medical Complex and Jidhafs Maternity Hospital, Bahrain.
Design: A Prospective Study.Method: Newborns from May to September 2015 were included in the study. Serial transcutaneous bilirubin (TcB) measurements were obtained utilizing the Dräger Jaundice Meter JM-103. Simultaneously, TSB measurements were performed for comparison.Result: Eighty-eight newborns were included. One hundred twenty-eight transcutaneous bilirubin TcB measurements were paired with TSB measurement. The mean ± SD of (TcB-TSB) difference for the 128 paired measurements was 1.09 ± 2.16 mg/dL, with differences ranging from 6.18 mg/ dL to 7.00 mg/dL. The correlation between the paired measurements was 0.75 (P-value < 0.0005).
Conclusion: TcB measurement is a viable tool for bilirubin screening in newborns.
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