The efficacy of intermittent versus continuous phototherapy in the duration of phototherapy required in the given bilirubin level

Abstract

The effectiveness of phototherapy is related to the area of skin exposed, the radiant energy, the sources and wave-length of the light and the cause and severity of jaundice [7]. Continuous phototherapy involves maintaining the jaundiced neonate under phototherapy virtually all the time with only minimal interruptions (e.g. during feeding or cleaning) so as to maximize the time spent under radiant energy and hopefully minimize the duration of phototherapy and hospital stay. The study included 100 in each group including term and late preterm neonates. The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee. A pre-designed proforma has aided the enrolment of newborns into the study. Mean total serum bilirubin (TSB) at 24 hours follow up in our study were 11.75+2.75mg/dl and 11.93+2.35mg/dl in group A and group B respectively. The percentage of reduction in bilirubin at 24 hours was 33% and 31.3% in group A and group B respectively which was not significant (p=0.29).