Katy Matthews.
St Georges University London, UK. | | Abstract | Background:
Jaundice in newborns is a common occurrence, with approximately 60% of term and 80% of preterm babies developing jaundice in the first week of life. This can become detrimental when persistent and lead to bilirubin induced neurotoxicity, kernicterus. Kernicterus is a chronic, disabling, neurological disorder with manifestations of cerebral palsy; therefore it is standard practice worldwide to screen of infants for jaundice.
Objective:
To evaluate the accuracy of the JM-103 TCB in the detection of hyperbilirubinemia in pre-term and term newborns, compared to standard methods of detection, such as serum bilirubin & blood gas samples.
Methods:
This prospective observational study was carried out over two weeks at, St George’s Hospital, London. Newborn infants in the Neonatal Unit and Postnatal ward were screened if they were already having blood gases (BG) or serum bilirubin (SB) tests taken.Babies were recruited for the study if they were born at a gestational age of ≥34 weeks and had not received phototherapy. In total 32 TCB results were obtained.
Results:
The TCB bilirubin results are intended to be accurate to +/- 25.5μmol/L. On analysis of the results, 81% of the 32 of the readings were within this parameter, suggesting a high level of accuracy. 87.5% of preterm infants’ readings and 75% of term infants’ readings were accurate to this parameter. Despite 81% of the readings being within the +/- 25.5μmol/L parameter, two readings taken were grossly outside the parameter set and may have resulted in a misdiagnosis if used in isolation.
Conclusion:
Although the TCB readings were highly accurate in relation to BG and SB it is important to note the risk of grossly inaccurate results, confirming the need to use clinical judgment in conjunction with the TCB. | | |
DOI No: https://doi.org/10.7199/ped.oncall.2014.13S
| Cite this article as: | | Matthews K. Evaluation of the JM-103 Drager Transcutaneous Bilirubinometer (TCB). Pediatr Oncall J. 2014;11. doi: 10.7199/ped.oncall.2014.13S |
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