Effects of Phototherapy on Hematological Parameters in Newborns with Indirect Hyperbilirubinemia

Introduction: Indirect hyperbilirubinemia is an important problem in newborns and phototherapy has an important role in treatment. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of phototherapy on hematological parameters in newborns with indirect hyperbilirubinemia. Method: In the last three months, 60 newborns (term = 30 and preterm = 30) diagnosed and treated for indirect hyperbilirubinemia were included in this study. Results: Twelve of the neonatal terms (40%) had either Rh incompatibility (n = 3) or ABO incompatibility (n = 9), 10 of the preterm newborns (33%) had either Rh incompatibility (n = 3) or ABO incompatibility (n = 7). The median durations of phototherapy of term and preterm newborns were 24 (range, 6-40) and 11 hours (range, 4-36), respectively. After phototherapy, it was found that the counts of WBC and RBC, Hb, MCV and RDW values of term newborns decreased statistically (p values were .0187, .0007, 0001, .0036 and