Abstract
Background and Objectives: Phototherapy is one of the most common and non invasive methods in treatment of unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia of the neonate.Adverse effects of phototherapy include loose stool,skin rash, over heating and dehydration. This study was done to show the probable changes of platelet and WBC count in patients receiving phototherapy.
Subjects and Methods: 150 healthy,full term icteric neonates admitted in Tabriz Children´s Medical Center were chosen.They had normal weights, non-hemolytic hyperbilirubinemia and there was no source of infection . During phototherapy cases needing exchange transfusion or suspicious of sepsis were excluded from study. Two samples, before and after phototherapy, were taken and analysis was done by automated cell counter ,then the results were analysed statistically.
Results: This study showed that durig phototherapy there is an increase in platelet and WBC counts .Rise of WBC count had a meaningful correlation with increasing age (P =0.033), while platelet count correlated with duration of phototherapy(P =0.020).
Conclusion: Possibly phototherapy increases the release of platelets from bone marrow in full term healthy neonates with sufficient platelet storage. Phototherapy also may stimulate the marginated WBC´s to enter the circulation leading to increase in WBC count.