Irradiance levels of phototherapy devices : A national study in Dutch neonatal intensive care units

Hulzebos, Christian V.
Van't Klooster, S. J.
Krummel-Lorenz, B
Vreman, Hendrik J.
Dijk, Peter H.
Benders, M. J.N.L.
Buijs, J.
Dudink, J.
Van Imhoff, Deirdre E.
Laarman, Céleste R.
Liem, Kian D.
van Lingen, R. A.
Lopriore, E.
Mulder, A. L M
Toledo-Eppinga, L.

Open link

Publication date

July 2017

DOI

10.1038/jp.2017.13

Publisher

Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study is to determine whether irradiance levels of phototherapy (PT) devices in Dutch neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) increased between 2008 and 2013. Study Design: Irradiance of all types of PT devices, used in combination with incubators, was measured with a Dale 40 Radiometer (Fluke Biomedical, Everett, WA, USA) in all 10 Dutch NICUs. Results: Irradiance increased in seven NICUs. Median (range) irradiance increased from 9.7 (4.3-32.6) to 16.4 (6.8-41) μW cm-2 nm-1 for 24 overhead devices (P=0.004) and from 6.8 (0.8-15.6) to 22.3 (1.1-36.3) μW cm-2 nm-1 for 12 underneath devices (P=0.014). Five light-emitting diode (LED)-based devices were used in 2013 and one in 2008. The mean distance between overh...