Prospective Randomized Controlled Study Comparing Low-Cost LED and Conventional Phototherapy for Treatment of Neonatal Hyperbilirubinemia

Abstract

Our objective was to carry out a prospective, randomized, single-blind study to evaluate whether light emitting diode (LED) phototherapy using a low-cost set of lights is as effective as conventional phototherapy in treating hyperbilirubinemia in neonates. The study included 45 pre-term neonates requiring phototherapy as per American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines; participants were randomized to receive phototherapy using LED-based lights, conventional fluorescent blue lights or conventional halogen lights. There were no statistically significant differences in the average bilirubin levels at the onset, at the maximum and at the end of treatment, nor in the duration of phototherapy treatment and the rate of decrease in bilirubin levels in the neonates receiving conventional fluorescent blue light, conventional halogen light and LED phototherapy. (Differences were considered significant at p < 0.05). The average rate of decrease of bilirubin levels was 0.047 ± 0.037 mg dl(-1) h(-1), 0.055 ± 0.056 mg dl(-1) h(-1) and 0.057 ± 0.045 mg dl(-1) h(-1) in the groups receiving conventional fluorescent blue light, conventional halogen light and LED phototherapy, respectively. The average duration of phototherapy treatment in the three groups was 108.8 ± 85.9 h, 92.8 ± 38.1 h, 110.4 ± 42.6 h, respectively. In this pilot study, LED phototherapy using a simple, low-cost set of lights was as effective as conventional phototherapy in the treatment of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. LED phototherapy lights that deliver 30-40 µW cm(-2 )nm(-1) can be assembled in small quantities for <US$ 100 each using off-the-shelf parts; such lights may enable phototherapy to be safely and reliably delivered in low-resource settings.

Engaging Undergraduates in Global Health Technology Innovation

“…Another student designed a portable, battery-operated fluorescence microscope that can be made for $240. Results of the lowcost microscope for detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis in sputum smears were concordant with those from a laboratory-grade fl uorescence microscope in 98.4% of cases (8).…”

Light-emitting Diodes versus Compact Fluorescent Tubes for Phototherapy in Neonatal Jaundice: A randomised control trial

“…In comparison to previous studies one done by Kumar et al [27][28] a multicentre trial for comparison LED and CFL showed that the two groups were equally efficacious in terms of rate of fall of bilirubin and total duration of phototherapy. The median duration of phototherapy (IQR) in the two groups was comparable (26 (22-36) h vs. 25 (22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36) h; P=0.44). The rate of fall of serum total bilirubin (STB) during phototherapy and the incidence of 'failure of phototherapy' were also not different.…”

Is the light-emitting diode a better light source than fluorescent tube for phototherapy of neonatal jaundice in preterm infants?

“…These results were similar with most of the previous reports indicating that LEDs units are as effective as conventional phototherapy units. [9–11]…”

“…There are, however, few available reports comparing the efficacy and safety of LED phototherapy with the conventional devices, only two of them used fluorescent tubes, and the results have been controversial. [6–11] Also, there is no sufficient data for preterm infants in this regard. In this study, we assessed and compared the efficacy and safety of LEDs with fluorescent phototherapy in the treatment of indirect hyperbilirubinemia in preterm infants.…”