title: Defining the limitations of transcutaneous bilirubin measurement in late preterm newborns.
abstract: The objective of this study is to determine the impact of postnatal age on the bias between transcutaneous (TcB) and total serum bilirubin (TSB), and evaluate a TcB screening protocol.
  
  
  
  Preterm and term infants had paired TcB and TSB performed on days 1 to 3 of life; a subset of preterm infants had measurements on days 4 to 7. Sensitivity and specificity of TcB (plotted on an age-specific TSB nomogram) for prediction of high-intermediate (HIR) or high-risk TSB were calculated.
  
  
  
  Median TcB bias was 2.6 and 2.5 mg dl-1for term and preterm infants in the first 3 days of life, respectively. However, median bias was 2.2 mg dl-1for preterm infants at 4 to 7 days of life. TcB in preterm infants predicted HIR or high-risk TSB with 94% sensitivity and 56% specificity.
  
  
  
  TcB screening protocols developed for term infants can be used for late preterm infants in the first 3 days of life.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
authors.forename: K L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Fine
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
authors.forename: W A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Carey
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
authors.forename: J A W
authors.initials: JAW
authors.lastname: Schuster
authors.affiliation: Division of Biomedical Statistics and Informatics, Department of Health Science Research, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Bryant
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Cook
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
authors.forename: B S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Karon
mesh_terms: D001663:Bilirubin / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D051556:Hyperbilirubinemia, Neonatal / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000097:blood*; D007567:Jaundice, Neonatal / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis; D008297:Male; D008910:Minnesota; D015997:Neonatal Screening / Q000379:methods*; D049451:Nomograms; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D047929:Term Birth / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D001663:Bilirubin