electrocardiographic parameters in neonates with hyperbilirubinemia in northeast iran

Background: hyperbilirubinemia, a common illness in neonates, imposes a risk of arrhythmia and sudden death, particularly during blood transfusions. the present study aimed to evaluate the electrocardiographic parameters in term newborns with hyperbilirubinemia in gorgan, northeast iran. methods: this cohort study was conducted on 101 term neonates admitted to our academic hospital with hyperbilirubinemia (direct bilirubin> 20 mg/dl). those with sepsis, torch[(t)toxoplasmosis, (o)ther agents, (r)ubella (also known as german measles), (c)ytomegalovirus, and (h)erpes simplex], congenital heart disease, polycythemia, and asphyxia were excluded. an electrocardiogram (ecg) was taken before the initiation of phototherapy, and heart rate, pr interval, qrs duration, qtc interval, and st-t changes were recorded after every 8 h during the phototherapy. results: in this population of neonates with a mean age of 6.09±3.57 days, the results demonstrated that after 32 h of phototherapy, bilirubin decreased to less than 20 mg/dl. following that, intensive phototherapy was replaced with the conventional method. changes in ecg parameters were not significantly related to changes in bilirubin levels (p> 0.05). conclusion: as evidenced by the results of this study, there was no significant relationship between ecg parameters and serum level of bilirubin; nonetheless, changes in cardiovascular parameters along with bilirubin levels were remarkable.