CORRELATION OF PLASMA COLOR INDEX WITH SERUM BILIRUBIN IN NEONATAL JAUNDICE

Concerns have been raised regarding an apparent increase in kernicterus in this group of infants (Brown and Johnson, 1996), and new approaches to prevention and diagnosis of hyperbilirubinemia have been sought (Making advances against jaundice in infant care, 1998).A major variable in the clinical management of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia is the well-documented unreliabilities of visual estimates of the degree of jaundice in an individual neonate (Tayaba et al, 1998).In contrast to color index, the results of transcutaneous bilirubinometer are affected by color of skin, phototherapy, and exchange transfusion. Malloy and Evelyn method is the standard technique in most laboratories but requires more quantity of blood and is more laborious. Micro-modifications of Malloy and Evelyn technique are available but require expensive equipment. The automatic methods give results 10 % lower than the manual technique (Singh et al, 2001).