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Updated: Aug 11, 2026
Biochemical Measurement of Neonatal Hypoxia
Published on: August 24, 2011
Accuracy of Bilistick (a Point-of-Care Device) to Detect Neonatal Hyperbilirubinemia
Bhargavi Kamineni1, Anusha Tanniru1, Venkateshwarlu Vardhelli1
1Department of Neonatology, Fernandez Hospital, Hyderabad, Telangana 500029, India.
Introduction:
Early diagnosis and appropriate management of neonatal jaundice is crucial in avoiding severe hyperbilirubinemia and brain injury. A low-cost, minimally invasive, point-of-care (PoC) tool for total bilirubin (TB) estimation which can be useful across all ranges of bilirubin values and all settings is the need of the hour.
Objective:
To assess the accuracy of Bilistick system, a PoC device, for measurement of TB in comparison with estimation by spectrophotometry.
Design/Methods:
In this cross-sectional clinical study, in infants who required TB estimation, blood samples in 25-µl sample transfer pipettes were collected at the same time from venous blood obtained for laboratory bilirubin estimation. The accuracy of Bilistick in estimating TB within ±2 mg/dl of bilirubin estimation by spectrophotometry was the primary outcome.
Results:
Among the enrolled infants, 198 infants were eligible for study analysis with the mean gestation of 36 ± 2.3 weeks and the mean birth weight of 2368 ± 623 g. The median age at enrollment was 68.5 h (interquartile range: 48-92). Bilistick was accurate only in 54.5% infants in measuring TB within ±2 mg/dl difference of TB measured by spectrophotometry. There was a moderate degree of correlation between the two methods (r = 0.457; 95% CI: 0.339-0.561, p value < 0.001). Bland-Altman analysis showed a mean difference of 0.5 mg/dl (SD ± 4.4) with limits of agreement between -8.2 and +9.1 mg/dl.
Conclusion:
Bilistick as a PoC device is not accurate to estimate TB within the clinically acceptable difference (±2 mg/dl) of TB estimation by spectrophotometry and needs further improvement to make it more accurate.
