Article Text

Download PDFPDF
Clinical examination could not accurately predict neonatal jaundice

Statistics from Altmetric.com

Request Permissions

If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.


 
 QUESTION: How accurate are clinicians in assessing neonatal jaundice?

Design

Blinded comparison of clinicians' visual observations with serum bilirubin test results.

Setting

Well newborn nursery of a hospital in Houston, Texas, USA.

Patients

122 healthy full term infants (mean age 2 d, 54% boys).

Description of tests and diagnostic standard

The infants were observed by 2 clinicians independently (paediatric resident, nurse practitioner, or attending physician) under fluorescent lighting near a window. The clinicians assessed jaundice as being absent, slight, or obvious for prespecified body zones starting at the head and progressing down the body. The record of each clinical assessment was placed in a sealed envelope before the serum bilirubin test was done.

Main outcome measures

Agreement between the 2 observers and correlation with serum bilirubin concentrations. The cut point for clinically significant …

View Full Text

Footnotes

  • Source of funding: no external funding.

  • For correspondence: Dr V A Moyer, Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas–Houston Health Science Center, 5656 Kelley Street, Houston, TX 77026, USA. Fax +1 713 636 5844.