Bilirubin and the laboratory. Advances in the 1980s, considerations for the 1990s.

The limitations of current methods of measuring bilirubin are well established and relate to the broad dynamic range and inability of the technique to determine different but structurally similar bilirubin species. New instrumentation and methodology circumvent these limitations, and clinical studies are beginning to reveal their increased diagnostic usefulness. Nevertheless, in several clinical situations, for example, the prediction of kernicterus, better bilirubin determinations may not eliminate the controversy surrounding appropriate therapeutic interventions.