Investigation of the Effect of Massage on Bilirubin Level in Preterm Infants

Neonatal jaundice is a physiological condition seen in 60% of infants and 80% of preterm infants in the first week of life. There is no clear data on the frequency of jaundice in newborns in our country. Jaundice is one of the common causes of 75% of hospitalizations in the first week after birth and the recurrence of hospitalizations in the neonatal period. Neonatal jaundice is a non-hazardous and transient condition that can usually resolve spontaneously without treatment. Although it is a transient condition, high bilirubin levels can cause kernicterus which causes severe neurological damage if not diagnosed and treated early .

The severity and complications of hyperbilirubinemia in premature infants are different from term infants. Premature infants are more susceptible to damage caused by serum bilirubin, even at low levels of brain cells. Hyperbilirubinemia in preterm infants is more prevalent, severe, and protracted than that in term infants because of the immaturity of their red blood cells, livers, and gastrointestinal tracts. There also is often a delay in enteral feeds, which may limit intestinal flow and bacterial colonization, resulting in further enhancement of the enterohepatic circulation of bilirubin. Preterm neonates are more susceptible to bilirubin neurotoxicity. Almost all preterm infants less than 35 weeks gestational age have elevated total serum/plasma bilirubin levels, which results in neonatal jaundice, the yellowish discoloration of the skin and conjunctiva caused by bilirubin deposition. The major complication of an elevated total serum (hyperbilirubinemia) is bilirubin-induced neurologic dysfunction (BIND), which occurs when circulating bilirubin crosses the blood-brain barrier and binds to brain tissue . Jaundice is an important problem in newborn infants and death and severe sequelae due to hyperbilirubinemia can be prevented by early diagnosis and treatment. Various treatment methods have been developed to reduce bilirubin levels. The most commonly used methods are; blood exchange, phototherapy and pharmacological agents. Therapeutic interventions prevent BIND and thus kernicterus by lowering the level of bilirubin in the blood. Phototherapy is a common treatment for both treatment and prevention of increased bilirubin levels. Phototherapy has been widely used in the treatment of hyperbilirubinemia of the newborn for more than fifty years. Phototherapy has various side effects, such as damage to the retina and genitalia, loss of body water, skin rashes, watery stools and Bronze Baby Syndrome.

Nowadays, studies on new treatment methods and different applications are being made which support the treatment of jaundice and shorten the length of hospital stay. Kangaroo care reduces the exposure of newborns to phototherapy, swimming, wiping and bathtub bathing have been reported to reduce bilirubin levels. Baby massage is one of the alternative and complementary therapies that can be used to reduce bilirubin levels.

While there are many studies investigating the effect of infant massage on bilirubin levels in term neonates with healthy and hyperbilirubinemia, a limited number of studies investigating the effect of massage on bilirubin levels in premature infants were found.

It is suggested that baby massage can be performed by trained nurses and mothers trained by nurses. Infant massage stimulates defecation by increasing bowel movements, thus decreasing enterohepatic circulation and increasing bilirubin excretion. Bilirubin excretion decreases the speed and severity of hyperbilirubinemia. In some studies investigating the effect of massage on bilirubin levels, transcutaneous bilirubin (TcB) levels or TSB levels were found to be significantly lower, also no significant difference was found in some studies.