Covered skin transcutaneous bilirubin estimation is comparable with serum bilirubin during and after phototherapy

Objective:to determine whether transcutaneous bilirubin (tcb) from covered skin (tcb-c) during and after discontinuing phototherapy (pht) is reliable in treating neonatal jaundice.study design:in this prospective observational study, before starting pht, part of the forehead was covered. tcb-c and tcb from exposed skin (tcb-e) to pht were measured before starting pht, on a 12-hourly basis while receiving pht and 6 h after stopping pht. we used anova (analysis of variance) and bonferroni's t-tests.result:a total of 39 infants were enrolled (mean gestation 39 weeks, 51% males and 80% hispanic). the mean tsb over all time periods was 10.9±2.4, tcb-c 10.9±2.4 and tcb-e 7.2±3.4. before pht, there were no significant differences in bilirubin by all three techniques. tcb-c was not significantly different from tsb at any time point. however, tcb-e was significantly lower during pht and after stopping pht.conclusion:tcb-c is a reliable method in the management of neonatal jaundice.