Transcutaneous bilirubinometry: Effect of postnatal age and serum bilirubin concentration.

Transcutaneous bilirubinometry (TcB) is a new diagnostic tool for neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. It can be used as a screening tool to identify full-term infants who require serum bilirubin determination. In Thai infants, it yields a positive prediction with serum bilirubin. The correlation coefficient was 0.8. The best correlation was obtained when serum bilirubin was over 15 mg/dl. The postnatal age of the infant affects the accuracy of TcB measured at the forehead. We recommend TcB be measured at the forehead during the first three days of life.