Dear colleagues..

Best wishes... any one has an explanation for occurence of hypocalcemia in preterm baby receiving phototherapy in NICU..

thanks

I do not have a patophysiological explanation, but hypocalcemia can occur during phototherapy.

I "googled" and found this Iranian article about prevalences in preterm and term infants. It is available as a PDF, see link below.

http://www.sid.ir/En/VEWSSID/J_pdf/85120020404.pdf

dear stefan,

thanks for the article, an interesting one, we have not so far come across this complication, or is it a case of what is not in mind eye can not see

LINK

Dear Thabit,

The physiological explation of the hypocalcaemia [Late Onset Hypocalcaemia (LOH)] in preterm neonates receiving phototherapy may be associated with the decreased melatonin secretion [i.e.phx induced] and increasing bone uptake of calcium [John P Cloherty,Eric C Eichenwald,Ann R Stark,Manual of Neonatal Care.Lippencott Williams & Wilkins.Fifth Edition 2004.Chapter 29.Pp 582].

Predisposing physiological factors are succintly described in Fanaroff and Martin's Neonatal Perinatal Medicine,Diseases of Fetus and Infant,Mosby Elsevier,Volume II,8 th Edition 2006,Chapter 47, Metabolic and Endocrine Disorders,Pp 1510 (but in Pp1512 writes "although the mechanism is still uncertain")].

Love.

Roy.

Edited November 10, 201014 yr by Sutirtha Roy

Dear Roy...

thanks for the post seems rational explanation..thanks Dear and good luck

thabet