EFFECT OF PHOTOTHERAPY ON PLATELET, RETICULOCYTE AND WHITE BLOOD CELLS IN FULL TERM NEONATES WITH HYPERBILIRUBINEMIA

Introduction Some adverse effects has been attributed to phototherapy in the treatment of neonatal indirect hyperbilirubinemia, but less known about its effect on Platelet, Reticulocyte and White Blood Cells (WBC) counts. This study was done to assess the effect of phototherapy on Platelet, Reticulocyte and White Blood Cells in neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. Materials and Methods In a cohort study at Amirkola Children Hospital (ACH) in Babol, the north of Iran, 50 full term healthy babies with a total serum bilirubin â�¥ 15 mg/dl who were admitted for phototherapy considered as case and another group of the same neonates with a total serum bilirubin 10- 15 mg/dl who were visited but not admitted for phototherapy considered as control group. In both groups a blood samples were taken for Platelet, Reticulocyte, WBC and other routine tests needed to assess hyperbilirubinemic neonate, at the time of enrolment and after 48 hours. Matching was done for sex, birth weight and postnatal age. The differences in the Platelet, Reticulocyte and WBC counts analyzed by SPSS-18 and a P-value less than the 0.05 considered being significant. Results The mean±SD of Platelet, Reticulocyte and WBC did not differ at the time of enrollment but after 48 hours the Platelet was increased in the phototherapy group significantly (P-value=0.040.The difference in the change in neutrophil (p value=0.112, lymphocyte (p value=0.178) and Reticulocyte count (P-value=0.705) were not significant between two groups. Conclusion Phototherapy increases the platelet count but has no a significant effect on the WBC and reticulocyte counts. Â