Platelet injury during phototherapy

Phototherapy with blue fluorescent light is widely employed for treatment of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. Functional, biochemical, and morphologic changes produced by blue fluorescent light in human platelets were identified and characterized. Platelet‐rich plasma was exposed for up to 170 min to amounts of light equivalent to that used in phototherapy of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. Within 110 min of light exposure, platelets were essentially no longer aggregable by ADP and connective tissue suspension and were depleted of ADP, ATP, and glycogen. Electron photomicrographs revealed these platelets to be swollen, depleted of glycogen granules and organelles, and to have ill‐defined membranes. Platelet injury could be accelerated by adding a photosensitizing agent, hematoporphyrin, to platelet samples before exposure. In contrast, control platelets kept in the dark for 170 min or nonirradiated platelets resuspended in irradiated plasma maintained their integrity. The results indicate that platelets are damaged in vitro when exposed to amounts of blue light used in phototherapy.