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The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends transcutaneous bilirubinometry in the management of hyperbilirubinemia in newborns (JW Pediatr Adolesc Med Aug 9 2004). This method measures bilirubin levels in the skin without painful blood sampling, but does it reliably estimate the total serum bilirubin (TSB) concentration, the gold standard for clinical decision making?
Researchers in the Netherlands tested a new bilirubinometer that measures the skin's absorption coefficient across a range of wavelengths and determines the contributions of bilirubin, melanin, oxygenated hemoglobin, and deoxygenated hemoglobin to skin color. They collected 124 transcutaneous bilirubin (TcB) measurements, paired with TSB levels, from 49 infants (mean gestatio…