Table 1.
Demographic characteristics of participating neonates
| Variable | Item | Massage group (n = 27) | Control group (n = 29) | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex | Male | 11 (40.7) a | 16 (55.2) | 0.29 |
| Female | 16 (59.3) | 13 (44.8) | ||
| Kinds of feeding | Breast feeding | 5 (18.5) | 5 (17.2) | 0.79 |
| Infant formula | 3 (11.1) | 4 (13.8) | ||
| Mixed | 19 (70.4) | 20 (69.0) | ||
| Hematoma | Yes | 4 (14.8) | 2 (6.9) | 0.35 |
| No | 23 (85.2) | 27 (93.1) | ||
| Type of delivery | Vaginal delivery | 25 (92.6) | 28 (96.6) | 0.52 |
| Cesarean-section | 2 (7.4) | 1 (3.4) | ||
| Gestational age (weeks) | 38.7 ± 0.7 b | 39.1 ± 0.9 | 0.36 | |
| Age (hours) | 117 ± 56 | 109 ± 42 | 0.41 | |
| Body height (cm) | 50.9 ± 1.7 | 50.9 ± 1.9 | 0.93 | |
| Body weight at birth (gm) | 3069.3 ± 233.3 | 3174.5 ± 340.6 | 0.19 | |
| Body weight at admission (gm) | 2888.9 ± 271.8 | 3008.2 ± 308.0 | 0.13 | |
| Physiologic weight loss (gm)c | 180.4 ± 102.3 | 166.2 ± 114.5 | 0.63 | |
| Percentage of physiologic weight loss (%) | 5.9 ± 3.4 | 5.1 ± 3.4 | 0.39 | |
| Phototherapy duration (hours) | 64.8 ± 16.6 | 69.4 ± 27.3 | 0.45 | |
| D1 microbilirubin level | 16.6 ± 1.4 | 17.1 ± 1.5 | 0.23 | |
| D2 microbilirubin level | 14.1 ± 1.2 | 14.5 ± 1.7 | 0.38 | |
| D3 microbilirubin level | 11.0 ± 1.1 | 11.8 ± 2.0 | 0.78 | |
| Microbilirubin level at the end of phototherapy | 9.6 ± 1.6 | 10.0 ± 1.8 | 0.19 | |
| Rebound microbilirubin level | (n = 3) 10.1 ± 2.4 | (n = 4) 10.6 ± 1.1 | 0.55 | |
| Hospital stay (hours) | 78.5 ± 14.0 | 87.8 ± 24.0 | 0.08 |
a Values are n (%)
b Values are means ± standard deviation
c Physiologic weight loss means the body weight loss between at birth and at admission
D1: first day of hospitalization, D2: second day of hospitalization, D3: third day of hospitalization