Comorbidities of Phototherapy Used in Neonatal Jaundice in Diyala Governorate, Iraq

Abstract

Phototherapy is the first most common therapeutic measure in treatment of jaundice in newborns and many cases been the only treatment required. This cross-sectional study tried to assess the comorbidities of phototherapy used in neonatal jaundice. The study conducted at Al-Batool maternity and child teaching hospital in Diyala province in Iraq, during the period August 2017 to January 2018, included 100 neonates with jaundice who were treated with phototherapy. Almost, 64% of the neonates aged less than three days, After phototherapy, there was a significant decline in each of hemoglobin, serum iron, TSB, serum calcium, serum Phosphate, serum RDW, serum MCV, WBC count and platelets count (p<0.001), and there was a significant increase in serum alkaline phosphatase (p<0.001) and urine calcium level (p=0.002). In conclusion, phototherapy had significant influence on the levels of minerals and electrolytes of the neonates, hence the change in mineralization and electrolyte status need to be managed carefully.