Controlled trial comparing agar, intermittentphototherapy, and continuous phototherapy for reducing neonatal hyperbilirubinemia

Low-birth-weight infants, les than 24 hours of age, were randomly assigned to oneof four therapy groups: (1) Agar, 125 mg, by mouth every 3 hours for 4 days beginning at 18 hours; (2) exposure to blue light, 200 to 300 footcandles 12 hours daily for 4 days (intermittent light); (3) exposure to blue light continuously for 4 days (continuous light); and (4) no therapy. Infants with a positive Coombs test or sepsis were excluded. From the second day on, infants who received light continuously had significantly lower mean bilirubin concentrations than any of the other three groups. Infants who received intermittent light or agar had daily mean values which were not significantly different from those of the control subjects except on Day 4.