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Updated: Sep 21, 2025
Transcutaneous Microcirculatory Imaging in Preterm Neonates
Published on: December 31, 2015
Refining interpretation of transcutaneous bilirubin measurement in newborns born late preterm
Gloria Akuamoah-Boateng1, Raymond C Stetson2, Brad S Karon3
1Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, Rochester, MN, USA.
Background:
Transcutaneous bilirubin (TCB) monitoring is widely used for jaundice screening in the newborn period. Limited data exists on adjusting TCB for bias in late preterm infants. The objective of this study was to determine the median bias between transcutaneous bilirubin and total serum bilirubin levels in newborns born at 35-36 weeks' gestation.
Methods:
This was a retrospective cohort study of late preterm infants born at 35-0/7 to 36-6/7 weeks' gestation who were admitted to a level III neonatal intensive care unit from May 2018 to February 2020. Transcutaneous and total serum bilirubin levels were assessed within 2 h of each other during the first 60 h of life. Bland-Altman plots were used to evaluate transcutaneous bilirubin bias. Bilirubin risk stratification based on age (in hours) was done using an adaptation of the Bhutani nomogram for transcutaneous, adjusted transcutaneous, and total serum bilirubin measurements.
Results:
The median bias between transcutaneous and total serum bilirubin bias was 2.4 mg/dL (IQR 1.7-3.4, 95% CI 2.2-2.7). The kappa statistic demonstrated slight agreement between the unadjusted transcutaneous bilirubin and total serum bilirubin (k = 0.033, p = 0.194. The kappa statistic demonstrated fair agreement between an adjusted transcutaneous bilirubin (subtract 1 mg/dL) and total serum bilirubin (k = 0.298, p < 0.0001) and moderate agreement between another adjusted transcutaneous bilirubin (subtract 2 mg/dL) and total serum bilirubin (k = 0.430, p < 0.0001).
Conclusion:
In a single center study of late preterm infants, transcutaneous bilirubin systematically overestimated the total serum bilirubin level. Subtracting 1 mg/dL from the transcutaneous bilirubin identified infants with total serum bilirubin levels in the high or high intermediate risk range. Adjusting the transcutaneous bilirubin prior to risk stratification may reduce unnecessary blood draws for total serum bilirubin. Studies of racially and ethnically diverse newborns using various transcutaneous bilirubin meters are needed prior to broad application of the adjusted transcutaneous bilirubin approach.
