Riboflavin (vitamin B2) treatment of neonatal pathological jaundice

The effect of traditional blue-light and riboflavin combined with blue-light was compared in newborns affected by ABO incompatibility, admitted for exchange transfusion. During the period of preparation for the intervention 14 patients were treated with blue light alone and 14 patients with riboflavin combined with phototherapy. A single dose of 10 mg/kg riboflavin was administered intravenously. The duration of treatment was three hours in both groups. The effect of phototherapy was markedly enhanced by the additional riboflavin, by the end of the 3-hour period a significant fall of serum bilirubin was demonstrated in the 14 patients treated with blue light and riboflavin while in the patients treated with phototherapy alone the bilirubin level continued to rise. There was no difference in the activity of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase and catalase, and in lipid peroxidation between the groups.