الفهرس 
Introduction.
Ch 2 : Phototherapy.Only 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Jaundice is the most common condition that requires medical attention in newborns. Few term newborns with hyperbilirubinemia have serious underlying pathology. More recent recommendations support the use of therapy less intensive in healthy term newborns with jaundice.
Management with Phototherapy to diminish the indirect bilirubin level is a benign procedure with few side effects such as rash, loose stools, increased water loss.
Observations showed that cytokine production might be up regulated or reduced after exposure to UV radiation in vitro or in vivo.
These observations may reflect that T cells are highly sensitive to UV radiation compared to keratinocytes and both cell types secrete cytokines.
In our study, we aim to investigate the influence of using phototherapy in the prevention or treatment of neonatal jaundice on the level of interleukin 6 .
This study included 30 term newborns with jaundice in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), having indirect bilirubin levels higher than 12 mg/dl and the control group included 15 healthy term newborns.
All patients were subjected to history taking from the mother, examination to exclude major illness or congenital malformation and basic laboratory investigations in the form of C -reactive protein and serum bilirubin ,blood samples were obtained from hyperbilirubinemic newborns before and after 24 hours of exposure to phototherapy and from controls at the examination time.
The level of serum IL 6 was measured in the samples using solid phase enzyme immunoassay (ELISA) Avibion human
IL -6 ELISA kit .
Serum IL 6 level in both patients before phototherapy and control group is similar. Serum IL 6 level significantly decreased after 24 hours of exposure to phototherapy and this change was statistically significant (P=0.001).
In conclusion, the results demonstrate that in addition to the well-known positive effect of phototherapy on the neonatal serum bilirubin level, this treatment affects the function of the immune system in newborns via alterations in IL 6 production.