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Low-cost home-use light-emitting-diode phototherapy as an alternative to conventional methods.
J Trop Pediatr. 2015 Apr ;61(2):113-8. Epub 2015 Jan 23. PMID: 25617633
Aygen Yilmaz
BACKGROUND: The aim of our study was to evaluate whether a portable, light-weight, light-emitting-diode phototherapy unit designed for home use is as effective as conventional blue-light fluorescent phototherapy (CFP) for treating hyperbilirubinemia in neonates.
METHODS: A total of 50 patients were recruited sequentially for treatment using CFP (n = 25) and the home-type phototherapy unit (n = 25).
RESULTS: The average rate of decrease in bilirubin levels was 0.17± 0.02 and 0.20 ± 0.01 mg/dL/hours at the end of 24 hours in the groups receiving phototherapy by CFP and home-type phototherapy units, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in the rate of the decrease in bilirubin levels between the groups (p = 0.104).
CONCLUSIONS: It has been shown that the home-type phototherapy unit is as effective as CFP units in the treatment of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia and has the potential to become a standard of care for treatment of jaundiced neonates.
