LY Siu, LW Siu, NS Kwong

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the reliability of Minolta JM-103 Jaundice Meter as a screening tool for healthy near term (>=35 weeks) to term neonates who presented to the Maternal and Child Health Centres (MCHCs) because of jaundice on day 3-14. Methods: This retrospective observational study studied the correlation between the total serum bilirubin (TSB) measurements and the paired transcutaneous bilirubin (TcB) measurements obtained in the MCHCs between January 2008 and July 2009. Findings: Transcutaneous bilirubin showed a low correlation with TSB (r=0.392) in 253 neonates aged between 3 to 7 days old. The corresponding correlation was moderate (r=0.674) in 95 neonates aged between 8 to 14 days old. The mean difference between TcB obtained in the MCHCs and TSB was 15.6 μmol/L and 18.6 μmol/L in the first and second weeks, respectively; indicating a uniform tendency for JM-103 to overestimate TSB. The corresponding limits of agreement were between -42.9 and 73.1 μmol/L in the former group and -42.1 and 79.4 μmol/L in the latter group. Conclusion: JM-103 cannot be considered a substitute for laboratory measurement of TSB, but appears to be useful as a screening tool in the studied population.