title: The value of Bilicheck as a screening tool for neonatal jaundice in term and near-term babies.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the accuracy of Bilicheck in assessing serum bilirubin. To evaluate the effectiveness of Bilicheck as a screening device in a population of jaundiced term and near-term babies.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective evaluation of paired Bilicheck measurements and serum bilirubin in 300 babies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was a strong correlation between Bilicheck and serum bilirubin. The mean difference between Bilicheck and serum bilirubin was -10.7 micromol/l, but the 95% limits of agreement were wide at -80 micromol/l to +60 micromol/l. Bilicheck identified significant jaundice (serum bilirubin above 250 micromol/l) with a sensitivity (95% confidence interval) of 91% (88% to 94%) and specificity of 66% (60% to 71%). The area under the receiver operator characteristic curve was 0.85. There were five false negatives, all of whom had a serum bilirubin below 300 micromol/l. If Bilicheck had been used as a screening device, there would have been a 55% decrease in blood samples taken in these babies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Bilicheck cannot be used to measure serum bilirubin in term and near-term babies with jaundice, but is an effective screening method, which can be used to safely reduce the number of blood tests in these babies.
authors.affiliation: Neonatal Unit, Liverpool Women's Hospital, Liverpool, UK.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Samanta
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kissack
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nayak
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chittick
authors.forename: C W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Yoxall
mesh_terms: D001663:Bilirubin / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007567:Jaundice, Neonatal / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D015997:Neonatal Screening / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D001663:Bilirubin