Phototherapy unit
In neonates, jaundice tends to develop because of two factors - the breakdown of fetal hemoglobin as it is replaced
with adult hemoglobin and the relatively immature metabolic pathways of the liver, which are unable to conjugate and
so excrete bilirubin as quickly as an adult. This causes an accumulation of bilirubin in the blood (hyperbilirubinemia)
leading to the symptoms of jaundice.
MOST OF THE CASES NEONATAL JAUNDICE CLEAR UP WITH PHOTOTHERAPY. WE HAVE
(A) CONVENSIONAL PHOTO THERAPY AS WELL AS
(B) LED -PHOTOTHERAPY
If the neonatal jaundice does not clear up with simple phototherapy, other causes such as biliary atresia, PFIC, bile
duct paucity, Alagille syndrome, alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency, and other pediatric liver diseases should be considered.
