Why Human Color Vision Cannot Reliably Detect Cerebrospinal Fluid Xanthochromia

摘要: Background— Visual assessment of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) for xanthochromia (yellow color) is practiced by the majority laboratories worldwide as a means diagnosing intracranical bleeds. Methods— Colorimetric and spectrophotometric analysis CSF samples recognizing presence bilirubin either in low concentrations or hemolysed blood. Results— The experiments provide physiological colorimetric basis abandoning visual xanthochromia. Conclusion— We strongly recommend relying on spectrophotometry analytical method choice.