Electrocardiographic Parameters in Neonates with Hyperbilirubinemia in Northeast Iran

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.
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.
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).
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.