Skip to main content
. 2020 Jul 1;2020(7):CD012011. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD012011.pub2

Dachlan 2015.

Study characteristics
Methods Randomised controlled trial
Participants Inclusion criteria:

  1. All term neonates with uncomplicated neonatal hyperbilirubinaemia and requiring phototherapy based on AAP guidelines


Exclusion criteria:

  1. Neonatal hyperbilirubinaemia onset at < 24 hours of life

  2. Congenital anomalies

  3. Severe asphyxia

  4. G6PD deficiency

  5. Severe infection

  6. Unknown birth weight


Mean (SD) age in days at recruitment:
Intervention = 4.23 (1.36)
Control = 3.91 (1.26)
Mean (SD) birth weight in kg of participants:
Intervention = 2.96 (0.35)
Control = 2.95 (0.32)
Interventions Intervention group:
Infants given phototherapy with aluminium reflectors placed on all 4 sides of the neonate's cot
Control group:
Infants given phototherapy without an aluminium reflector
Distance between phototherapy unit and neonate standardised at 30 cm, based on AAP guidelines for delivering optimal spectral irradiance to decrease serum bilirubin levels
Outcomes Measurement of serum bilirubin at 12th, 24th, and 48th hours, then every 24 hours if needed, until phototherapy could be stopped according to AAP guidelines
Duration of phototherapy according to type of intervention in hours
Notes Study done from July to August 2013, at Dr. Hasan Sadikin Hospital, Bandung, Indonesia
Risk of bias
Bias Authors' judgement Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias) Unclear risk Not reported: "...divided into two groups by permuted block randomisation"
Allocation concealment (selection bias) Unclear risk Not reported
Blinding of participants and personnel (performance bias)
All outcomes High risk Participants: neonates by definition blinded, but parents not blinded. Clinicians/Nurses not blinded. The type of intervention may have influenced handling of the baby by parents and healthcare providers
Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias)
All outcomes Low risk Not reported. We judged bilirubin measurement to be an objective measurement not affected by lack of blinding
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias)
All outcomes Low risk "... remained in their respective groups". Incomplete data < 5%
Selective reporting (reporting bias) Low risk Protocol not available. All expected outcomes reported
Other bias Low risk None detected