Are There Distinctive Situations in the Evaluation of Neonatal Jaundice in the Yellow, Black and White Race?

Abstract

Hyperbilirubinemia (jaundice) is defined as the increase in bilirubin plasma level to stain the skin and sclera yellow.1 Neonatal jaundice progresses from head to toe, first starts from the infant's head region, moves downward and spreads to the legs and feet. It can be used in the estimation of bilirubin level. The visual assessment of jaundice is not an effective method alone in estimating serum total bilirubin (STB) concentration for reasons such as the change of skin color among the races, differ among observers, and the fact that it has not yet stored in the skin at rapidly increasing bilirubin levels. However, the use of noninvasive methods such as inspection and transcutaneous bilirubin (TCB) is of great importance since it leads to the early start of treatment and reduces infection risk compared to invasive procedures. Skin color tone may give misleading results in inspection. Therefore, health professionals should be encouraged to assess jaundice by looking at the skin color, nasal mucosa, gums and examining the infant's eyes .