Safety of green LED phototherapy for neonatal hyperbilirubinemia: A randomized controlled trial

Green light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are still not widely used worldwide for neonatal hyperbilirubinemia, likely because their irradiance has not been properly evaluated and reports on their safety are scarce. We compared safety between green and blue LED phototherapy for the treatment of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia by using the alkaline comet assay method.

This randomized controlled trial included 40 neonates with neonatal hyperbilirubinemia who were randomly allocated to green and blue LED phototherapy groups. Blood samples were obtained before and after 24 h of phototherapy in both groups. DNA damage was evaluated by alkaline comet assay. Total serum bilirubin (TSB) was measured using enzymatic methods.

The increases in % tail DNA after 24 h of phototherapy were not significantly different between the two groups. The TSB reduction was significantly greater in the green LED group than in the blue LED group (p < 0.01).

Green LED phototherapy appears to be reasonably safe in terms of DNA damage and shows a slightly greater effect in reducing serum bilirubin levels compared with blue LED phototherapy.