Diagnosing Jaundice by Eye-Outpatient Assessment of Conjunctival Icterus in the Newborn.

In pediatric office practices, we compared transcutaneous bilirubin levels in 689 newborns, age 3-10 days, with and without conjunctival icterus. In this age range, and in the absence of other clinical or laboratory indications, the presence of conjunctival icterus does not imply the need to measure the transcutaneous bilirubin or serum bilirubin level, but the absence of conjunctival icterus helps to rule out significant hyperbilirubinemia.

The natural history of jaundice in predominantly breastfed infants.

Background And Objectives: Breastfed newborns are more likely to develop prolonged hyperbilirubinemia than those fed formula, but the prevalence of prolonged hyperbilirubinemia in a largely white, North American breastfed population is unknown. In this population, we documented the natural history of jaundice and the prevalence of prolonged hyperbilirubinemia, and we evaluated the utility of assessing the cephalocaudal progression of jaundice in office-based practices.

Methods: We measured transcutaneous bilirubin (TcB) levels during the first month in 1044 predominantly breastfed infants ≥35 weeks of gestation and assigned a cephalocaudal zone score to each infant at the time of the TcB measurement.

Evaluation of a new transcutaneous bilirubinometer.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the Minolta/Hill-Rom Air-Shields Transcutaneous Jaundice Meter model JM-103.

Methods: We studied a convenience sample of 849 newborns > or =35 weeks of gestation in 3 hospitals. These infants had total serum bilirubin (TSB) levels measured on clinical indication, and transcutaneous bilirubin (TcB) levels were obtained within 1 hour of the TSB levels.