TO STUDY EFFECT OF PHOTOTHERAPY ON SERUM SODIUM, POTASSIUM AND CHLORIDE LEVELS IN NEONATAL JAUNDICE

Abstract

INTRODUCTION The most common morbidity in the rst week of life is the jaundice which occurs in 80% of term and 60% of preterm neonates and is the most often causes readmission after the baby is discharged from the hospital. The treatment of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia is phototherapy. Like any other treatment modality, phototherapy also has side effects of which very few studies were done on electrolyte disturbances. Hence present study was designed to determine the serum sodium, potassium and chloride changes in neonates receiving phototherapy for neonatal jaundice. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To study the effect of phototherapy on serum sodium, Potassium and Chloride levels in neonates with neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. MATERIALS AND METHODS This Hospital Based Longitudinal Observational Study was done in the Department of Paediatrics at MMIMSR, Mullana over a period of one and a half year. Serum bilirubin, sodium, Potassium and Chloride levels were measured before initiation of phototherapy and on termination of phototherapy. RESULTS The study included 100 neonates with hyperbilirubinemia treated with phototherapy with male: female ratio of 58%:42%.The mean gestational age was 37.681.63 weeks and birth weight was 2.790.38kgs. The age of onset of phototherapy and duration of phototherapy were 3.802.50 days and 28.627.02 hours respectively. Before phototherapy, the total serum bilirubin, sodium, potassium and chloride levels were 13.87±1.41,140.72±3.45,4.55±0.44 and 106.08±3.1 respectively which decreased to 9.50±1.60,137.45±3.09,4.20±0.46 and 104.52±3.91 with statistically signicant change in bilirubin(p<0.0001),sodium(p<0.0001), potassium(p<0.0001) and Chloride(p=0.0038).