Irradiância dos aparelhos de fototerapia em uma maternidade de João Pessoa.

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Phototherapy has been universally most widely used way to treat neonatal jaundice, and the correct management, as well as adequate devices and lamps with continuous monitoring of their irradiances, are of fundamental importance for effective phototherapy in the treatment of jaundice, reducing the length of hospitalization and the risk of brain damage. OBJECTIVE: Evaluate the effectiveness of phototherapy devices used in newborns at Instituto Cândida Vargas (ICV) through the standardized measurement of the irradiance. STUDY DESIGN: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach. To measure the 17 phototherapy devices, a THOR Multitester 3620 photodosimeter was used, calibrated directly in microwatts per square centimeters per nanometer (mw / cm2 / nm). RESULTS: 17 phototherapy devices, 16 Bilispot® and 1 Biliberço®, were analyzed. The mean irradiance of the devices was 2.95 μW/cm²/nm ± 1.42. The Bilispot®-type devices presented a variation of 0.97 to 5.32 μW/cm²/nm, average of 2.77 μW/cm²/nm; Biliberço® presented the highest irradiance among all analyzed devices, with a value of 5.87 μW/cm²/nm. Only 17.64% of the devices had an irradiance greater than 4 μW/cm²/nm. CONCLUSION: The majority of the devices had irradiance below the minimum considered therapeutic, making evident the need for a greater efficiency in the maintenance of phototherapy devices.