Accuracy of transcutaneous bilirubinometry in the preterm infants: a comprehensive meta-analysis

Background: Transcutaneous bilirubin (TcB) measurement is widely used in term babies. But its effectiveness till debated in preterm infants. So, our objective was to pool data to see the accuracy of transcutaneous bilirubinometry in preterm infants.

Method: MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library database were searched from 2000 to July 2017. The included studies had compared TcB with total serum bilirubin (TSB) in preterm infants before phototherapy and data were presented as correlation coefficients. Data were extracted by two reviewers and checked for accuracy by the third reviewer. The risk bias assessments were done by an assessment quality assessment of diagnostic accuracy studies tool. Pooled correlation coefficient assed after Fisher’s z transformation and then converted to r.

Results: We included 28 studies; all those studies reported results as correlation coefficients. In combination of both sternal and forehead site measurement, our pooled estimates of r?=?0.82 (95% CI: 0.78–0.85) in random effect and r?=?0.803 (95% CI: 0.78–0.81) in fixed effect model. For separate sites of measurement of TcB pooled r for forehead and sternum were comparable, r?=?0.82 (95% CI: 0.78–0.85), and pooled correlation coefficient for the two devices JM103 and Bilicheck the estimated pooled r were also comparable (Pooled r?=?0.83).

Conclusion: Our study found that TcB measurement is well related with TSB values and can represent a reliable method for evaluating preterm infants with possible hyperbilirubinemia. Our findings support the use of investigated devices at both forehead and sternum sites in preterm infants.