[Usefulness of transcutaneous measurements of bilirubin in infants with jaundice].

Traditionally, in neonatal jaundice, diagnosis is based on repetitive serum bilirubin measurements. The aim of this study was to analyse clinical usefulness of transcutaneous bilirubinometry as a noninvasive screening test in evaluating neonatal jaundice. The material consisted of 106 full-term infants in which 130 meter readings were performed. A Minolta/Air Shields Jaundice Meter 101 was used. Meter readings were compared with serum bilirubin measurements from these infants (correlation ratio was 0.56). After analysing the clinical data, the conclusion was, that transcutaneous bilirubinometer is a useful instrument for assessing neonatal jaundice for clinical purposes. The bilirubinometer can effectively identify infants whose degree of jaundice the need for serum bilirubin determination and can prevent unnecessary repetitive blood sampling in infants not requiring serum bilirubin determination.