INTRODUCTION Transcutaneous bilirubin (TcB) measurement in newborns has been studied extensively in the non-Hispanic population, but its usefulness in the Hispanic population remains unclear. We evaluate the accuracy of TcB measurements in assessing jaundice in Hispanic neonates by using total serum bilirubin (TSB) measurements as the reference standard and determine the TcB level that can be u...

By far the most common clinical problem addressed by family practitioners and pediatricians in the first weeks of an infant’s life is hyperbilirubinemia. With the exception of the standard metabolic screen, the measurement of a total serum bilirubin (TSB) concentration is the most common laboratory test ordered for a newborn infant. That is not surprising because the clinical sign, jaundice, is...

Pathophysiology of jaundice Jaundice is defined as the yellowish discoloration of the skin, mucous membranes and conjunctival membranes caused by hyperbilirubinemia, which is an excess of bilirubin in the blood. Discoloration is most noticeable in the face and descends cephalocaudally; with clearance of the yellowish hue occurring in the opposite direction. Most adults are visibly jaundiced whe...

The use of transcutaneous bilirubin (TcB) measurements would seem to represent an opportunity to decrease the use of laboratory total serum bilirubin (TSB) testing because the former would serve as a surrogate for the latter. Many authors of previous studies have concluded that TcB measurements are useful and can serve as a reliable index for estimating TSB concentrations (1–4), even in darkly ...