الفهرس 
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Abstract
Jaundice is one of the most common and annoying problem that can occur in the newborn. Although most jaundiced infants recover without any serious problems, there is always a risk of bilirubin encephalopathy during the period of hyperbilirubinemia.
Phototherapy is now considered to be the standard method for management of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. Phototherapy though gradual in reduction of serum bilirubin level, is highly effective and rebound hyperbilirubinemia after phototherapy is relatively not rare. Yet neonates treated with phototherapy may suffer from side effects e.g. skin rash, loose stool, hyperthermia, fluid losses. A less known but potential complication of phototherapy is hypocalcaemia.
The present study was conducted for the assessment of hypocalcaemia in 40 full term jaundiced neonates treated with phototherapy. This study was done in El-Nasr hospital, Port Said Governorate.
Newborn infants with neonatal jaundice who were managed with exchange transfusion, birth asphyxia, neonatal sepsis and infants of diabetic mother were excluded.
All cases of the study were subjected to complete history taking through physical examination and the following laboratory investigations were done: total and ionized serum calcium level before, after phototherapy and 48 hours after termination of phototherapy. Serum bilirubin level was also measured before, after and 48 hours after termination of phototherapy. Hypocalcemia developed in18 neonates who represented 45% of our study groupc neonates. Yet it is very important to mention that hypocalcaemia in these cases was on laboratory basis with no obvious clinical manifestations. Triple phototherapy induced hypocalcemia more than double or single phototherapy. Two cases only developed skin erythema and one became hyperthermic.
This study revealed that there was a high significant decrease in total and ionized serum calcium levels in full term jaundiced neonates after phototherapy which increased 48hour after termination of phototherapy but did not reach their levels before the exposure to phototherapy.
Based on the present results, it could be concluded that, hypocalcaemia may be induced by exposure to phototherapy of full term hyperbilirubinemi. Accordingly, it is recommended to assess serum calcium level in hyperbilirubinemic neonates treated with phototherapy more than 48 hours and manage these cases.