Effectiveness, Safety and Perceptions With the Use of One LED Blanket Device in the Ambulatory Treatment of Neonatal Jaundice

Background: Jaundice due to hyperbilirubinemia is the most common entity that requires medical management in neonates. About 50% of full-term newborns and 80% of premature infants develop jaundice. The effectiveness of phototherapy for neonatal jaundice depends on two factors: the spectrum of light emitted and the spectral irradiation of light. An ideal phototherapy device should have a broad light emission surface, in order to cover the maximum of the body surface in the horizontal plane, it should be durable, generate relatively little heat and provide a wavelength and light intensity (radiation) optimal (460-490nm and ≥ 30uw / cm2 / nm). The conventional phototherapy devices use fluorescent lamps that emit heat and require eye protectors, in addition to increasing water losses, which requires a permanent monitoring of vital functions and temperature. Its use imposes hospitalization and consequently mother-child separation, always traumatic. The most recent devices use light emitting diodes (LED light) as the light source. Objective: to evaluate the effectiveness, safety and level of satisfaction of parents and healthcare team with one innovative device for phototherapy to which a LED light mesh has been incorporated (one blanket), comparing it with the Ohmeda BiliBlanket Plus®, used at the Kangaroo Mother Care Program for intermittent ambulatory phototherapy. Methods: randomized controlled clinical trial with preterm or low birth weight infants that required phototherapy according to the guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatrics. The Protocol was evaluated and accepted by the "Hospital Universitario San Ignacio and Pontificia Universidad Javeriana research committee". Informed consent was requested from parents and the authors declared no conflict of interest. Sample size and allocation: using the STATA 12 program, a sample size of 64 patients was calculated, 32 for each group, with significance level of 0.05, power of 80% and difference in bilirubin decreasing of at least 0,1 mg/dl/h with standard deviation of 0.14 mg/dl/h and 5% of losses. A computer program randomized the allocation to the intervention and the concealment of the assignment was through sealed opaque envelopes. Seric bilirubin levels were taken at the start and at the end of phototherapy. Controls were done every 2 hours with bilicheck spectrophotometer device. Axillary temperature was measured at the beginning of phototherapy, at 30 min, 60 min, and every 2 hours during intervention. Physical examination, recording of side effects related, mortality and requirement of hospital treatment were performed. Parents and health personnel answered a survey on comfort and perceptions with the use of the devices at the end of phototherapy. Analysis: Comparison of means was made for the decrease of bilirubin levels and body temperatures and chi-square for incidence of side effects, hospitalization, mortality and results of the survey.