The effect of phototherapy on serum calcium level in neonates with hyperbilirubinemia: a cross sectional study

ABSTRACT

Background: Neonatal Hyperbilirubinemia is one of the leading causes for admission in NICU in the first week of life. This condition if left untreated may lead to irreversible neurological damage hence increasing mortality and morbidity in newborns. Neonatal Hyperbilirubinemia is treated with phototherapy which employs blue wavelengths of light to change unconjugated bilirubin in the skin. The bilirubin is then converted to less toxic water-soluble photo-isomers that are excreted in the bile and urine. There are several toxic effects to the use of this treatment, one of them being hypocalcemia.Methods: This study has been done at Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences in 2016-2018 on 100 new-borns to prove the effect of phototherapy on serum calcium levels in neonates with hyperbilirubinemia. New-born who were admitted in NICU for Hyperbilirubinemia were screened according to inclusion and exclusion criteria, their sample for serum calcium and serum bilirubin levels were taken as pre and post phototherapy samples.Results: It was observed that the mean Serum calcium level before phototherapy in neonates was 9.31 mg/dl with standard deviation of 0.69 mg/dl. Whereas after phototherapy mean serum calcium level in neonates was 8.88 mg/dl with standard deviation of 0.73 mg/dl. There was statistically significant mean difference in serum calcium level at before and after phototherapy in neonates (p<0.0001).Conclusions: This study proves the hypothesis that phototherapy can cause hypocalcemia in neonates with hyperbilirubinemia.