A Randomized Trial of Phototherapy with Filtered Sunlight in African Neonates

In this randomized trial involving term and late-preterm infants with hyperbilirubinemia in Nigeria, filtered sunlight was noninferior to conventional phototherapy in the management of hyperbilirubinemia. These data support its role as an alternative treatment in low-resource areas. Worldwide, severe neonatal hyperbilirubinemia affects at least 481,000 term or near-term newborn infants annually, of whom 114,000 die and more than 63,000 survive with moderate or severe disabilities. 1 – 3 The majority of affected infants (>75%) reside in low-to-middle-income countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. 1 – 5 Severe neonatal hyperbilirubinemia that progresses to acute bilirubin encephalopathy or kernicterus is devastating for infants, children, and their families, since surviving children may have severe long-term impairments, including choreoathetoid cerebral palsy, deafness, language-processing disorders, and general developmental delays. 6 – 10 These outcomes are rare in high-income countries, where there is timely recognition of clinically significant hyperbilirubinemia and . . .