title: Transcutaneous bilirubin monitoring predicts unexplained late-onset hemolysis in a very low birthweight infant.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In term infants, transcutaneous bilirubin (TcB) monitoring can be used to predict hemolytic hyperbilirubinemia. However, it is not clear whether the technique can also be used to predict unexplained late-onset hemolysis in very low birthweight (VLBW) infants.
  
  
  METHODS
  The case was an infant with a birthweight of 1154 g who developed unexplained late-onset hemolysis at 8 days of age. The hyperbilirubinemia rapidly worsened, and therefore both phototherapy and exchange transfusion were performed. TcB levels were measured using the JM-105 jaundice meter and found to have increased by >3 mg/dL since before the onset, demonstrating for the first time that the device clearly detects changes in hemolytic rate.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although TcB levels did not correspond directly with total serum bilirubin levels in VLBW infants, the two values exhibited parallel changes in this case. Therefore, serial TcB monitoring may be useful in the early prediction of unexplained late-onset hemolysis in VLBW infants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-2, Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 650-0017, Japan.
authors.forename: Miwako
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nagasaka
authors.affiliation: Clinical Laboratory, Kobe University Hospital, Kobe, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomoe
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kikuma
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-2, Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 650-0017, Japan.
authors.forename: Sota
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Iwatani
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-2, Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 650-0017, Japan.
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kurokawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-2, Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 650-0017, Japan.
authors.forename: Keiji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamana
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-2, Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 650-0017, Japan.
authors.forename: Kaori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Maeyama
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-2, Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 650-0017, Japan.
authors.forename: Tsubasa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Koda
authors.affiliation: Clinical Laboratory, Kobe University Hospital, Kobe, Japan.
authors.forename: Hisayuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-2, Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 650-0017, Japan.
authors.forename: Mariko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Taniguchi-Ikeda
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-2, Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 650-0017, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazumoto
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Iijima
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-2, Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 650-0017, Japan.
authors.forename: Hajime
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-2, Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 650-0017, Japan. ichim@med.kobe-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Ichiro
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Morioka
mesh_terms: D017668:Age of Onset; D001663:Bilirubin / Q000378:metabolism*; D004899:Erythroblastosis, Fetal / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight / Q000378:metabolism*; D012867:Skin / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D001663:Bilirubin
keywords: Hemolysis; Total serum bilirubin; Transcutaneous bilirubin; Very low birthweight infant