The Impact of Phototherapy on a Term Newborn's Blood Calcium Level at Al-Bayda Medical Center, Libya

• Rania M. Ataib

  Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Omar Al-Mukhtar University, Libya

  Author

• Salwa H. Mohammed

  Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Omar Al-Mukhtar University, Libya.

  Author

• Reema S. Salem

  Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Derna University, Libya

  Author

• Faiza M. Ali

  Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Omar Al-Mukhtar University, Libya

  Author

• Fatema I. Mahmoud

  Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Omar Al-Mukhtar University, Libya

  Author

• Mabrouka A. Bofarraj

  Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Omar Al-Mukhtar University, Libya

  Author

During the first week of birth, the most prevalent abnormal physical finding is Neonatal Hyperbilirubinemia (NH). Phototherapy is important in both the prevention and treatment of hyperbilirubinemia. However, there's a chance that this therapeutic approach may have unintended consequences. The purpose of this study was to ascertain how phototherapy affected the serum calcium levels of term neonates with unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia. 50 newborns undergoing phototherapy who were admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit were the subjects of a prospective hospital-based observational study. Serum levels of calcium and bilirubin were measured both before and after phototherapy ended. The initial samples served as the reference points. The mean gestational age was 37.02 ± 0.25 weeks, and the mean birth weight was 3.21 ± 0.45 kg. The average phototherapy session lasted 39.36 ± 11.64 hours. Phototherapy significantly lowered serum calcium levels with the mean before phototherapy being 8.89± 0.99 SD and after 8.14±1.22 SD, p<0.001. Hypocalcemia developed in 32 (64%) babies, among them 16 (32%) had a calcium deficiency before phototherapy. The study concluded that phototherapy had a considerable impact on calcium levels in a term neonate with hyperbilirubinemia.

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Copyright (c) 2024 Rania M. Ataib, Salwa H. Mohammed, Reema S. Salem, Faiza M. Ali , Fatema I. Mahmoud, Mabrouka A. Bofarraj (Author)

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