Abstract

The cost of transcutaneous bilirubin (TcB) assessments in neonates restricts its availability outside of high-resource environments. There are typically only a few instruments, even in hospitals. Accurate bilirubinometers are becoming increasingly important for outpatient care and home monitoring, since many families these days are sent home before the period that neonatal hyperbilirubinemia peaks. We designed a novel, straightforward Tc bilirubinometer specifically for this purpose, and in this work, we assess the degree of agreement between TcB and TsB before, during, and after phototherapy treatment. Methods: In the newborn unit of the paediatric department at MGMGH and KAPV GMC in Trichy, a prospective cohort research was conducted. Included were newborns with ABO and Rh incompatibility who needed phototherapy after developing clinical jaundice within 10 days of birth. However, those who required an exchange transfusion or post-exchange, had bruises, birth marks, subcutaneous hematomas, or were suffering from conjugated hyperbilirubinemia were prohibited from taking part in the trial. This study involved 400 newborns in all. Results: The majority of newborns had gestational ages more than 35 weeks. For all gestational ages of newborns, there is a strong correlation between baseline transcutaneous bilirubinometer values and total serum bilirubin. Good agreement was found in the agreement study between TcB and TSB, with limits of agreement ranging from 0.6 to 4.1. Compared to the unpatched area, there was good agreement between the patched area TcB and TSB during the whole-time interval following the start of phototherapy. The results of the analysis of Rebound TcB and TSB were also same. Conclusion: A secure instrument for determining bilirubin levels in neonates—term and preterm—is the MBJ-20 Tc bilirubinometer. Since there is minimal possibility of overestimation when utilising TcB from a covered forehead before to, during, and following phototherapy, TcB can be used to monitor neonatal jaundice. Validating TcB's high value or bilirubin in exchange level with serum bilirubin is essential.

Description