Transcutaneous bilirubin levels in extremely preterm infants less than 30 weeks gestation.

Objective: The primary objective of this study was to determine the relationship between transcutaneous bilirubin (TcB) levels and total serum bilirubin (TSB) levels in extremely preterm infants.

Study Design: We conducted a prospective multicenter study of extremely preterm infants less than 30 weeks gestation in California. Difference between paired TcB and TSB values were compared based on gestational age, birth weight, maternal race/ethnicity, chronological age as well as during and after phototherapy.

Results: TSB values ranged from 0 to 12.6 mg/dl and the TcB values ranged from 0 to 14.2 mg/dl. TSB was predicted with a high degree of accuracy at TSB = 2.37 + 0.54 (TcB) with r = 0.786. There was good correlation across gestational age, birth weight, race/ethnic, chronological age subgroups as well as during and after phototherapy.

Conclusion: Our study supports the use of TcB as a screening tool for monitoring jaundice in extremely preterm infants.