Neonatal jaundice: a critical review of the role and practice of bilirubin analysis

Neonatal jaundice is common, and usually harmless, because of physiological jaundice or breast-feeding. In some neonates unconjugated bilirubin concentration, coupled with other risk factors, is sufficient to allow free bilirubin to cross the blood-brain barrier and cause kernicterus. Another subgroup of infants is jaundiced because of elevated conjugated bilirubin; a marker for a number of pathological conditions. Bilirubin measurement must identify those infants at risk. Transcutaneous bilirubin measurement is increasingly used in healthy infants, especially before early discharge or at home, to assess the need for laboratory bilirubin measurement. Transcutaneous measurements are not covered by laboratory quality assessment schemes. Guidelines on management of neonatal jaundice utilize age in hours and other risk factors to define bilirubin action thresholds, which may be as low as 100 mu mol/L for sick premature infants, whereas early discharged babies may only present after bilirubin concentrations are extremely high. Hence, there is a requirement for accurate total bilirubin measurement from < 100 to > 500 mu mol/L, with sufficient precision to assess the rate of bilirubin change with time. Babies presenting with late jaundice always require conjugated bilirubin measurement. It is of concern that many total and direct bilirubin automated kit methods suffer from haemolysis interference, while use of in-house methods or modification of commercial methods has virtually disappeared. External quality assessment has a vital role in providing data on different methods' performance, including accuracy, precision and susceptibility to interference. Laboratories should consider whether their adult bilirubin methods are suitable for neonates.