Original Paper

Spectroscopic Noninvasive Measurement of Hemoglobin Compared with Capillary and Venous Values in Neonates
H. Rabe^a, R. Fernandez Alvarez^a, T. Whitfield^b, F. Lawson^a, H. Jungmann<sup>c

a</sup>Department of Neonatology, Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals, and
^bBrighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK;
^cMBR Optical Systems, Research Laboratories, Wuppertal, Germany

Address of Corresponding Author

Neonatology 2010;98:1-5 (DOI: 10.1159/000261019)

  Key Words

• Noninvasive measurement
• Hemoglobin

  Abstract

Background: Venepuncture-related blood loss is a common cause of neonatal anemia. Currently, this is the only way to obtain hemoglobin levels. This causes distress for the infant but can also lead to the need for blood transfusions. Recently, a new technique for measuring hemoglobin levels non-invasively has been developed to reduce iatrogenic blood loss and pain. Objective: To compare hemoglobin levels obtained using a transcutaneous spectroscopic device (Mediscan 2000, MBR Optical Systems, Wuppertal, Germany) with venous or capillary blood samples in neonates. Methods: Single-center prospective cohort study of term and preterm infants. The white light spectroscopic device was placed on the forearm for 60 s to measure hemoglobin content within 4 h of venous or capillary blood sampling. Pain reactions of the infants were assessed by using a neonatal pain assessment tool. Results were analyzed by Bland-Altman comparison and Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results: 80 infants (mean gestational age 29.8 ± 3.8 weeks, mean birth weight 1,300 ± 690 g) were enrolled into the study. A total of 313 spectroscopic recordings within 2 h of a clinically indicated blood sample (181 capillary, 142 venous) were taken. The correlation coefficient R² was 0.96 for capillary/spectroscopic and 0.99 for venous/spectroscopic pairs. Pain scores were significantly less for the spectroscopic measurements (p < 0.01). Conclusion: The results show good correlation between the hemoglobin blood levels and spectroscopic measurements. The slightly lower correlation coefficient for the capillary samples demonstrates a naturally higher variance in these values due to the laboratory method.

Copyright © 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel

  Author Contacts

PD Dr. Heike Rabe
Department of Neonatology, Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals
Eastern Road
Brighton BN2 5BE (UK)
Tel. +44 1273 696 955, Fax +44 1273 664 435, E-Mail heike.rabe@bsuh.nhs.uk

  Article Information

Received: April 7, 2009
Accepted after revision: July 22, 2009
Published online: November 25, 2009
Number of Print Pages : 5
Number of Figures : 3, Number of Tables : 1, Number of References : 13