The Research Roundup provides an overview of the past week’s research from Mayo Clinic Laboratories consultants, including featured abstracts and a complete list of published studies and reviews.
The goal of the study was to determine whether the introduction of a reformulated bilirubin reagent, the Roche bilirubin Gen.3 assay, changed the relationship between BiliChek transcutaneous bilirubin (TcB) and total serum bilirubin (TSB). TcB results from term infants in the level 1 nursery obtained within one hour of a TSB were reviewed over two periods, six months before and after the conversion from the previous generation Roche bilirubin reagent to the new Roche Gen.3 bilirubin assay. TcB measurements were performed using BiliChek transcutaneous devices (Respironics, Marietta GA). Distribution of TSB results, and TcB minus TSB bias, were compared before and after introduction of the reformulated Roche bilirubin Gen.3 assay. Median and interquartile range (IQR) TSB values and bias were calculated. A statistical difference between median TSB values and bias were assessed using Man-Whitney test. Implementation of the reformulated Roche bilirubin Gen.3 reagent did not affect the relationship between BiliChek transcutaneous and total serum bilirubin; thus, no changes were needed to the neonatal TcB screening protocol as a result of the new bilirubin reagent. The study was published in Clinical Biochemistry.