title: Reference interval for the bilirubin excess in cerebrospinal fluid by derivative spectrophotometry.
abstract: The value of the bilirubin excess can be a useful aid for recognizing blood from haemorrhage in cerebrospinal fluid. One of the parameters needed for the calculation of the bilirubin excess is the total bilirubin concentration in CSF. A method for measuring total bilirubin in cerebrospinal fluid is presented, based on diazotization of bilirubin according to Jendrassik-Gróf, combined with multiwavelength first derivative spectrophotometry. This bilirubin assay allows determination of total bilirubin concentrations as low as 0.045 +/- 0.002 mumols/l. This method also enables a correction for oxyhaemoglobin interference. The value of the bilirubin excess was calculated for patients (n = 66) not showing any neurological disorder. A reference interval of 0.07 +/- 0.06 mumols/l was calculated for the bilirubin excess.
authors.affiliation: Diagnostic Laboratory for Clinical Chemistry, State University Hospital of Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Gimpel
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: van Rijn
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Putters
mesh_terms: D001663:Bilirubin / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D006801:Humans; D012016:Reference Values; D013057:Spectrum Analysis
chemical_list: D001663:Bilirubin