A comparison of neonatal jaundicemeasurement methods with the feli̇x von luschan scale

Newborn jaundice is the yellow coloration of the skin and sclera, with total serum bilirubin rising above 5mg/dL in newborns. It is the most frequent cause of admission to the hospital in the neonatal period. If the level of bilirubin rises too much, leads to kernicterus by passing through the undeveloped blood-brain barrier in the newborn and accumulating in the brain. In order to prevent kernicterus, each newborn should be watched closely and the bilirubin level of the babies in the icteric appearance must be checked and treated immediately in case of it rises to high levels. Because invasive methods are painful and the lab results take a long time to come out, the use of noninvasive methods is required. Therefore, the applicability of the noninvasive method Felix von Luschan skin color scale was compared with the other invasive methods (total serum bilirubin, blood gas bilirubin, microcapiller neonatal bilirubin). The results were obtained by investigating 110 term newborns (76 male, 34 female) in the current study. In addition, laboratory parameters such as contagious birth (43.6 % NSVY and 56.4 % C/S) and nutritional pattern (77.3 % breast milk and 22.7 % breast milk + formula mama), blood incompatibility (31.8 % ABO incompatibility), whole blood count, and biochemical laboratory parameters were examined. As a result, there was a strong positive correlation among the other invasive methods and a weak positive correlation with Felix von Luschan skin color scale. As the value of bilirubin was increased, which was observed by the invasive methods, the color code in the color scale was also increased. However, not every bilirubin value appeared on the same color scale code. All of the cases have color codes of 15 or more on the color scale. Considering that all of the cases are hospitalized and all of them are treated, in the Felix von Luschan skin color scale test, 15 color codes can be regarded as the lower limit for starting treatment and it was concluded that this test can be used as a screening test. Key words: Newborn jaundice, Felix von Luschan skin color scale, bilirubin