Effect of aluminum foil reflector on serum bilirubin and duration of phototherapy among term neonates undergoing phototherapy for hyperbilirubinemia: A randomized controlled trial

Background: Jaundice is a common clinical issue especially in the first week of life and one of the leading causes for readmission to the hospital. This study aimed to assess the effect of aluminium foil reflector on serum bilirubin level ,duration of phototherapy and duration of hospital stay.
Methods: A randomized controlled trial was carried among 50 term neonatesin neonatal intensive care unit(NICU) .Term neonates were randomly assigned in to experimental and control group by block randomization. Consecutive sampling technique was used to enroll the neonates who met the inclusion criteria. During photo therapy neonates in the control group received standard careand the neonatesin the experimental group received standard care along with aluminium foil reflector around all the four sides of neonatal cot. Data were analysed using chi square test, fisher exact test and independentt-test.
Results: After the intervention the serum bilirubin levels in the experimental and control groupswere13.20±3.35 and 14.07±3.12 respectively (P = 0.348),total duration of phototherapy in hours in experimental group and control groupswere 35.76±17.20 and 38.08±16.36 respectively(P = 0.627) and duration of hospital stay in days in experimental group and control group were 2.6±0.91 and 2.92±1.22 respectively (P = 0.299).
Conclusion: Aluminium foil reflector aids in decreasing bilirubin level, reduced the duration of phototherapy and duration of hospital stay among term neonates.