All issues > Volume 27(9); 1984

Original Article

J Korean Pediatr Soc. 1984;27(9):865-871. Published online September 30, 1984.

The Influence of Phototherapy on the Concentration of Serum Calcium.

Hyun Sook Lee¹, Hung Bae Park²

¹Dept, of Pediatrics, College of Medicine Soon Chun Hyang University, Seoul, Korea
²Dept, of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea

Abstract

Since the report of Dr. Cremer in the 1950s the effectiveness of phototherapy in the treatment of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia has been demonstrated in many clinical trials and now become widely accepted as a routine therapeutic measure in most pediatric clinics. Considering the relatively high incidence of prematurity and neonatal jaundice especially in Asian countries, it is of great concern to the physician participating in child health program to confirm the safety and possible disadventages of phototherapy. Recently, there was a research reporting an increased incidence of hypocalcemia following phototherapy but neither the satisfactory explanation of its mechanism nor the follow up study was ever made. To clarify whether the phototherapy as a means of treating neonatal hyperbilirubinemia may cause hypocalcemia, authors investigated and studied 70 cases of infant who received phototherapy at Soon Chun Hyang University Hospital during the 8 months period in 1982. The level of serum calcium before and after phototherapy was checked and analyzed by; 1)gestational age, 2) birth weight, 3) the length of total irradiation. Authors, however, could not find out any significant change in serum calcium concentration. Further studies taking account of factors such as individual threshold, choice of wave length and delayed effect may be necessary.

Keywords :Phototherapy; Concentration; Serum calcium