Use of fenofibrate as adjuvant to phototherapy in unconjugated neonatal hyperbilirubinemia: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Most neonates have neonatal jaundice, with 5–15% requiring phototherapy. Although phototherapy is beneficial, it can potentially extend hospital stays and cause harm. This study’s purpose was to analyze the effects of fenofibrate and phototherapy on total serum bilirubin (TSB) levels at 24 and 48 hours (primary outcome) after intervention. Furthermore, the phototherapy duration and adverse events were also of interest (secondary outcome).

METHODS:

The study protocol was registered in the PROSPERO database. Articles were searched on EMBASE, PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar. Study selection was done following PRISMA and risk of bias studies were conducted. The Review Manager 5.4 was used for the meta-analysis.

RESULTS:

Nine studies, including 610 newborns, were identified and included in the meta-analysis. This meta-analysis discovered a significant change in TSB levels at 24 hours after intervention (mean difference (MD) –0.96 (95% CI –1.09, –0.83), p < 0.00001) with low heterogeneity and at 48 hours after intervention (MD –1.75 (95% CI –2.26, –1.24), p < 0.00001) with high heterogeneity. Significant shortening of phototherapy duration was observed in the interventional group (MD –15.28 (95% CI –20.65, –9.90), p < 0.00001) with high heterogeneities. One of the nine studies reported a non-significant occurrence of abdominal distension and diarrhea in the fenofibrate group.

CONCLUSION:

Fenofibrate might be applied as an adjuvant in unconjugated neonatal hyperbilirubinemia to reduce the average total serum bilirubin and shorten the length of phototherapy.