[Phototherapy in the treatment and prevention of serious icterus in the neonate].

Ten years ago, treatment of serious icterus in the neonate was made more effective by the addition of a new method: the employment of the hypobilirabinaemising effect of light. The mechanism of degradation lying behind this action is not vet fully clear; there can be no doubt, however, that the method is convenient, practical and harmless. Personal results obtained in 1 yr of work in this field are reported. 113 subjects (77% of whom were immature) were treated. The ratio of treated subjects to number of births was 7% (ratio between exsanguinotransfusion and birth values, 0.7%). The means consecutive exposure time has been 48 hours but they arrived also 7 days exposure and there were no cases of immediate or long-term damage. 25% of the treated subjects presented an almost always slight bilirubinaemic rebound. The normal degradation rhythm was 0.2 mg/hr and 0.1 mg/hr on the first and second day respectively. In cases of icterus due to reabsorption of haematoma, however, a 25% above-average degradation rhythm was observed.