Phototherapy for hyperbilirubinaemia in low birthweight infants.

Elliott, E., Moncrieff, M. W., and George, W. H. S. (1974). Archives of Disease in Childhood, 49, 60. Phototherapy for hyperbilirubinaemia in low birthweight infants. Eighty-eight babies whose birthweights were between 1500 g and 2500 g, and whose serum bilirubin reached 10 mg/100 ml, were entered into a controlled trial of phototherapy. Alternate babies were treated with 4000 to 5000 lux, and control cases were not treated unless the bilirubin exceeded 15 mg/100 ml. No baby in the treated group developed a serum bilirubin greater than 15 mg/100 ml, compared with 44% ofuntreated cases, a highly significant difference. No side effects occurred apart from overheating in a few babies. We conclude that phototherapy is a safe and effective way of treating hyperbilirubinaemia in low birthweight infants, and suggest it should be started when the bilirubin reaches 12 mg/100 ml, except for babies under 1500 g birthweight when it should be started at 10 mg/100 ml.