Enzymic Clearing of Lipaemic Serum Following Total Parenteral Nutrition: Determination of Neonatal Bilirubin as a Model

Bilirubin determinations in the newborn infant are one of the many analytical tests that can yield misleading results when the specimen is either iatrogenically or naturally lipaemic. Incorporation of a recently reported enzymic clarification System into a commercially available test kit enables one to conveniently and accurately quantify both total and direct bilirubin within the present procedural characteristics of the Bilirubin Stat Analyser Photometer. This Instrument measures the former directly with bichromatic spectrophotometry and the latter with a conventional diazo-type reaction. The proposed modification of existing reagents allows one to apply the assay to samples with äs niuch as, and possibly more than 16 g/l of triglycerides which has been introduced into the vascular circulation äs intravenous total parenteral nutrition.