Phototherapy for hyperbilirubinemia of hemolytic disease of the newborn

In full-term infants, phototherapy, as used in this study, has a limited effect in modifying the course of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia due to Coombs positive hemolytic disease. Phototherapy cannot be considered a reliable substitute for exchange transfusion, particularly in the presence of severe hemolysis. Physicians using phototherapy must continue close monitoring of infants treated with light, lest infants, at risk of bilirubin toxicity, be denied a needed exchange transfusion. Additional studies will be required to determine whether earlier initiation of phototherapy would yield a more striking clinical response.