Abstract Background: Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia is the most common health problem among neonates. The decline in total serum bilirubin (TSB) after phototherapy differs by gestational age. Objective: The objective of this study was to find out the correlation between gestational age and the decline of TSB after phototherapy. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 94 neonates with hyperbilirubinemia who underwent phototherapy in the neonatal ward at Ngoerah Hospital, Bali, Indonesia, from January to December 2017. Patients with incomplete data were excluded. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 23.0. Patient characteristics are presented in the table as percentages and means. The correlation between gestational age and the decline in TSB after phototherapy was analyzed using the Spearman’s correlation test. Results: Of 94 subjects, 54% were male, mostly full-term babies (67%) and weighing >2500 g (66%). The median (interquartile range) of TSB before phototherapy in preterm babies was 13.11 (standard deviation SD: 2.6) mg/dL, while in full-term babies, it was 14.97 (SD: 5.68) mg/dL. The decline in TSB after phototherapy in preterm babies was 5 (4.94) mg/dL, while in full-term babies, it was 6.14 (3.73) mg/dL. The correlation between gestational age and the decline of TSB after phototherapy is low ( r = 0.215; P = 0.037). Conclusions: There is a positive low correlation between gestational age and the decline of TSB after phototherapy.
Priskila et al. (Thu,) studied this question.