Abstract
The objective of this study was to evaluate the MBJ20® transcutaneous bilirubinonometer by Beijing M&B Electronic Instrument Co. Ltd. (Beijing, China) in the assessment of severity of neonatal jaundice. Two hundred and twenty-two paired samples from 88 newborns aged between 28 and 44 weeks of gestation at Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi Anambra State, were analyzed. These infants had total serum bilirubin (TSB) levels measured on clinical indication, and transcutaneous bilirubin (TcB) levels were obtained at the forehead and sternum within 10 min of the TSB levels. There was a close correlation between TSB and TcBF and between TSB and TcBS for all the paired readings (n = 222, r = 0.904; n = 222, r = 0.917, respectively). MBJ20 values differed on average from the TSB values by 3.2 mg/dL for TcBF and 2.0 mg/dL for TcBs. We conclude that TcB measurements using the MBJ20 jaundice meter correlate very closely with TSB levels over the range of TSB encountered in this study and that estimation of TcB should be done at both the forehead and sternum.
Highlights
Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia is found in approximately 60% of term and 80% of preterm infants [1]
The strong positive relationship from the present study indicates that estimation of the bilirubin level by MBJ20® was consistent with the corresponding total serum bilirubin (TSB)
In contradistinction to findings from other studies [5,12] that bilirubin estimates from transcutaneous bilirubin (TcB) forehead are lower than bilirubin values from TcB sternum, this study found bilirubin levels from TcB forehead to be higher than those of TcB sternum
Summary
Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia is found in approximately 60% of term and 80% of preterm infants [1]. The possibility of using a noninvasive, painless, and reliable method to determine the bilirubin level and its increment in the first 36 to 72 h after birth has become necessary. This is important in regions where factors such as interruption of power supply, poor maintenance of equipment and shortage of reagents often limit the potential for providing dependable and reliable serum bilirubin measurements. Evaluation of the MBJ20® transcutaneous bilirubinometer for reliability and accuracy may help reduce repeated blood sampling in a resource-constrained setting such as Anambra State. We hypothesized that TcB estimated by MBJ20® is as good as the Diazo method of measuring the serum bilirubin in jaundiced neonates
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