Randomized trial of prophylactic phototherapy in the infant with very low birth weight. Double phototherapy with high irradiance compared with single phototherapy in neonates with hyperbilirubinemia. A randomized, controlled application of the Wallaby phototherapy system compared with standard phototherapy. Double versus single phototherapy in low birth weight newborns. Double versus single phototherapy in term newborns with significant hyperbilirubinemia. Fiberoptic, conventional and combination phototherapy for treatment of nonhemolytic hyperbilirubinemia in neonates. Efficacy of new microprocessed phototherapy system with five high intensity light emitting diodes (Super LED). [A new device for phototherapy of neonatal jaundice].
Twenty-two preterm infants (birth weight 850 +/- 220 gm) were randomly assigned to receive phototherapy either soon after birth or after the serum bilirubin concentration reached 5 mg/dl. Infants receiving prophylactic phototherapy were placed under lights at a significantly earlier age and lower serum bilirubin concentration than infants in the routine group (P less than 0.001). There was no significant difference between groups in peak serum bilirubin concentration, age at which it peaked, rate of rise in serum bilirubin concentration, or serum bilirubin concentration at any time during the study. Infants assigned to the prophylactic phototherapy group were under lights for a significantly longer time than those in the routine group (P less than 0.05). There was a significant rise in both configurational and structural photo-isomers (P less than 0.005) independent of serum bilirubin concentration after phototherapy in all patients. These data suggest that the clinical course of hyperbilirubinemia is not altered in infants with very low birth weight receiving prophylactic phototherapy compared with infants with phototherapy begun at a bilirubin concentration of 5 mg/dl. The purpose of this study is to compare the effectiveness of double phototherapy versus single conventional phototherapy in decreasing serum bilirubin levels in jaundiced neonates. Forty-two preterm infants who were less than 37 weeks' gestational age and less than 2000 g birthweight with nonhemolytic jaundice were alternately assigned to double phototherapy (n = 19) (Biliblanket, Ohmeda with irradiance of 33 to 35 microW/cm2/nm in addition to single conventional phototherapy with combination of three or four special blue and white lamps with irradiance of 7 to 9 microW/cm2/nm) or to single conventional phototherapy (n = 23) based on elevated serum bilirubin levels in the first week of life. Phototherapy was initiated at specific bilirubin levels in three weight stratifications. The groups were similar in clinical characteristics at study entry. The decrease in serum bilirubin levels was very significant in the double phototherapy group at 8 hours after the therapy (-29 +/- 18.8 versus 8.5 +/- 27 mumol/L; P < 0.001), at 16 hours after the therapy (-49.6 +/- 15.4 versus 3.4 +/- 39 mumol/L; p < 0.001), and at 24 hours after therapy (-71.8 +/- 18.8 versus -3.4 +/- 32.5 mumol/L; p < 0.001) compared with the conventional phototherapy group. The time taken for bilirubin levels to fall below the threshold level was 55 +/- 41 hours in the single group and 14 +/- 6 hours in the double group (p < 0.001). Double phototherapy was well tolerated. The Biliblanket when used in conjunction with single conventional phototherapy resulted in a faster decrease of serum bilirubin.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) The feasibility and efficacy of a fiberoptic blanket (Wallaby Phototherapy System) for the treatment of physiologic jaundice was compared with conventional phototherapy. Forty-two full-term infants with nonhemolytic jaundice were included in the study. Infants in the study group were treated with the fiberoptic blanket and the infants in the control group were placed under a standard phototherapy unit. Both the fiberoptic blanket and the standard phototherapy unit delivered an average irradiance of 7.0 +/- 0.5 muw/cm2/nm. Incremental changes in serial plasma bilirubin levels compared with the initial bilirubin concentration did not differ between the study and control groups. For infants whose initial plasma bilirubin concentration exceeded 200 mumol/L, a statistically significant difference was found in both study and control groups between the average bilirubin level at initiation of phototherapy and the average bilirubin level at termination of treatment. We conclude that phototherapy delivered by the fiberoptic blanket is safe and has efficacy comparable to that of conventional phototherapy, providing a convenient alternative phototherapy application strategy that obviates the need for eye patches and facilitates maternal handling of the infant during therapy. Conventional phototherapy systems that simultaneously irradiate the front and the back of the baby lower the serum bilirubin level more rapidly than one-sided systems, but they are impractical. Fiberoptic phototherapy makes it easy to administer conventional phototherapy from above while the infant lies on a fiberoptic phototherapy blanket. Newborns with birth weights less than 2500 g were randomly assigned to receive either single (n = 37) or double (n = 33) phototherapy. The groups were similar in clinical and laboratory characteristics. After 18 hours of therapy the serum bilirubin concentration declined by 31 +/- 11% in the double and 16 +/- 15% in the single phototherapy group (2.9 +/- 1.1 vs 1.6 +/- 1.4 mg/dL), and the difference in the total serum bilirubin levels after 18 hours of therapy was significant (double phototherapy group 7.1 +/- 2.7 mg/dL vs single phototherapy group 8.2 +/- 2.6 mg/dL). After 18 hours of treatment the serum bilirubin level was less than the phototherapy threshold level in 26 of 37 single phototherapy patients vs 32 of 33 double phototherapy patients. Double phototherapy was well tolerated. It is concluded that this type of double phototherapy is more effective than single phototherapy in low birth weight newborns. Double phototherapy may be useful when it is necessary to reduce an elevated serum bilirubin level as rapidly as possible or when the bilirubin level is rising with single phototherapy. The efficacy of double phototherapy, in the form of conventional phototherapy with special blue light plus fiberoptic phototherapy, was compared with conventional phototherapy consisting of special blue lamps alone in a relatively larger series of term newborns with significant hyperbilirubinemia. During the study period the sum of the average spectral irradiances in the double phototherapy group was significantly higher than that of the single phototherapy group (p < 0.05). Phototherapy was effective in decreasing bilirubin levels in both groups, but the response was greater in the double phototherapy group; the duration of exposure to phototherapy was significantly shorter (31.2 +/- 8.5 vs. 38.98 +/- 14.7 h, p < 0.05), and the overall bilirubin decline rate as mumol/l/h and per cent/h was significantly greater in the double phototherapy group (4.1 +/- 1.37 vs. 3.3 +/- 0.86 mumol/l/h, and 1.29 +/- 0.38 vs. 1.02 +/- 0.44 per cent/h, p < 0.05). In phototherapy treatment of term newborns with significant hyperbilirubinemia, double phototherapy provided more rapid and effective bilirubin reduction than conventional phototherapy alone due to higher spectral irradiance and larger body surface area exposed to phototherapy. The value of double phototherapy in the treatment of newborns with hemolytic hyperbilirubinemia remains to be determined. The objective of this prospective, randomized study was to compare the effectiveness of fiberoptic, conventional and a combination phototherapy in decreasing bilirubin concentrations in neonatal nonhemolytic hyperbilirubinemia. Forty-six infants who were 36 weeks' gestation and more were randomly assigned to fiberoptic phototherapy (n=16) (Biliblanket, Ohmeda), conventional daylight phototherapy (n=15) and combination phototherapy (n=15) (fiberoptic and conventional). The groups were similar in clinical characteristics at study entry in terms of birth weight, age and bilirubin concentration. There were no statistically significant differences in the duration of treatment among the three groups (P=0.83). There were also no statistically significant differences among the three groups in the serum bilirubin concentrations at 24 hours, 48 hours, end of phototherapy, and 24 hours postphototherapy. We concluded that the decrease in serum bilirubin concentration was comparable among fiberoptic, conventional and combination phototherapy groups. To evaluate the efficacy of a microprocessed phototherapy (PT) system with five high intensity light emitting diodes (Super LED) for the treatment of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia of premature infants.
                Randomized clinical trial using Super LED phototherapy in the study group and twin halogen spotlight phototherapy in the control group. A stratified blocked randomization, based on birth weight, was performed. The duration of phototherapy and the rate of decrease of total serum bilirubin (TSB) concentration in the first 24 hours of treatment were the main outcome measures.
                We studied 88 infants, 44 in the Super LED group and 44 in the halogen spotlight PT group. The demographic characteristics of the patients in both groups were similar. Infants in the Super LED group had a similar mean initial serum bilirubin level (10.1+/-2.4 mg%) to those receiving halogen spotlight treatment (10.9+/-2.0 mg%). After 24 hours of treatment, the decrease in total serum bilirubin levels was significantly greater in the Super LED group (27.9 vs. 10.7%, p<0.01) and duration of phototherapy was significantly shorter in this group (36.8 h vs. 63.8 h, p<0.01). After 24 hours of treatment, a significantly greater number of patients receiving Super LED phototherapy had reached serum bilirubin concentrations low enough to allow withdrawal of treatment (23 vs. 10, p<0.01).
                Our results demonstrate that the efficacy of Super LED phototherapy for treating hyperbilirubinemia in premature infants was significantly better than halogen phototherapy. The effectiveness of a new device for phototherapy in the treatment of nonhemolytic hyperbilirubinemia (Wallaby Phototherapy System) was evaluated. 46 healthy term infants, appropriate for gestational age and with serum bilirubin > 12 mg/dl in the first 3 days of life or > 15 mg/dl after 3rd day were randomly assigned to a treatment group (24 hours of light exposure with Wallaby Phototherapy System) and to a control group (any treatment for hyperbilirubinemia). Body temperature, weight, feeding and hydration were recorded during the study period. Serum bilirubin and haematocrit were done every 12 hours in all babies. In the treated group we found a decrease of 5.1% and of 7.8% at 12 and 24 hours, while an increase of 3.37% and of 2.9% at 12 and 24 hours was found in the control group. After 24 hours the serum bilirubin level was significantly lower in the treated group than in the control group (p < 0.05). No newborn of the treated group needed conventional phototherapy versus 4 control infants (17.4%). The conclusion of our study is that the Wallaby System is useful in the treatment of neonatal nonhemolytic hyperbilirubinemia even if its effectiveness for higher bilirubin levels has still to be tested.
Prophylactic phototherapy helps to maintain a lower serum bilirubin concentration and may have an effect on the rate of exchange transfusion and the risk of neurodevelopmental impairment. However, further well-designed studies are needed to determine the efficacy and safety of prophylactic phototherapy on long-term outcomes including neurodevelopmental outcomes.