[Capillary and central serum bilirubin: reliability of values]

At the Servicio de Medicina Perinatal Pediátrica of the Centro Hospitalario "20 de Noviembre" of the ISSSTE, 141 samples of bilirubin were obtained from 47 icteric newborns within the first 72 hours of hospitalization. Determinations were made for total serum bilirubin, indirect and total capillary bilirubins. The results obtained were submitted to analysis of plain linear regression followed by determination of correlation coefficient to establish statistical reliability. The capillary samples showed a greater statistical reliability by a lesser dispersion index. The determination of capillary bilirubin makes necessary the investigation by microtechnics of the potentially toxic fraction of bilirubin. However in the indistinct utilization of capillary and central venous samples, capillary values may be more useful because their reading is more reliable.