A modified kit method and a miniphotometer used for the rapid determination of total bilirubin in neonatal sera

The results of the determination of total bilirubin in neonatal sera using the Compur kit and miniphotometer are reported. The kit method was modified somewhat by halving the volume of serum. This smaller volume (10 microliters) minimizes the interference of haemoglobin and turbidity. In a study of 68 neonatal sera, the method correlated excellently with the assay according to Hertz et al. ((1974) Scand. J. Clin. Lab. Invest. 33,215-230) and precision was better than 3.5%. The method described is rapid and reliable and ideally-suited for emergency requests for monitoring neonatal hyperbilirubinaemia.