PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Matthew C O'Connor
AU  - Meredith A Lease
AU  - Bonny L Whalen
TI  - How to use: transcutaneous bilirubinometry
AID  - 10.1136/archdischild-2012-302384
DP  - 2013 Aug 01
TA  - Archives of disease in childhood - Education & practice edition
PG  - 154--159
VI  - 98
IP  - 4
4099  - http://ep.bmj.com/content/98/4/154.short
4100  - http://ep.bmj.com/content/98/4/154.full
SO  - Arch Dis Child Educ Pract Ed2013 Aug 01; 98
AB  - The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence neonatal jaundice guidelines recommend checking the bilirubin level in all infants with visible jaundice. The gold standard for this measurement is total serum bilirubin (TSB). Transcutaneous bilirubinometry (TcB) is an alternative to TSB that has been validated for clinical use through extensive study. TcB provides many advantages over TSB including instantaneous measurements without requiring a painful lab draw. For infants >35 weeks gestation, TcB can reliably identify infants at risk for severe hyperbilirubinaemia and can decrease the number of TSB measurements obtained. However, paediatric providers should be aware of limitations in clinical use of TcB including decreasing accuracy at higher bilirubin levels, lack of independently validated nomograms for interpretation and limited research regarding its use during phototherapy.