European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

STUDY OF ATOPIC DERMATITIS RISK IN JAUNDICED NEONATES TREATED WITH PHOTOTHERAPY IN THE EARLY CHILDHOOD

*Dr. Zahrah Mohammed Ali Abbood Issa, Booran Mamdooh Saeed Nazhat and Rand A. Abduljabbar Al-Wattar

ABSTRACT

Only a limited number of studies evaluated the association between phototherapy-treated neonatal jaundice and the development of atopic dermatitis (AD) in the early childhood. The present study aimed to assess the relationship between the AD development in the 1st two years of life who receive phototherapy in the case of neonatal jaundice. In this case control study, 80 children younger than two years of age who were admitted to Karama Teaching Hospital (Baghdad, Iraq) were enrolled. The subjects were classified into the case (children with AD, n=35), and control (children without AD, n=45) groups. AD was diagnosed by an allergist according to the AD diagnostic criteria. The history of neonatal jaundice treatment with phototherapy as well as the medical records of all the recruited subjects was investigated. Data were collected by a physician according to clinical manifestations and medical records. The association between phototherapy-treated jaundiced neonates and developing AD was examined. The mean age of the participants in the case and control groups was (11.6±6.6) and (10.7±5.5) months respectively. It was found that 11(68.8%) of the phototherapy-treated neonatal jaundice patients developed AD in their early childhood. Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the effect of jaundice treatment with phototherapy on the AD development in the early childhood. The prevalence of AD was higher in the patients with positive history of jaundice treatment with phototherapy (P = 0.01, OR=4.13, 95% CI: 1.41-10.14). Based on the results, it can be concluded that atopic dermatitis in early childhood was significantly associated with neonatal jaundice treatment by phototherapy.

Keywords: Atopic Dermatitis, Hyperbilirubinemia, Neonatal Jaundice, Phototherapy.