A new method of phototherapy: nursing perspectives.

Phototherapy is commonly used to treat infants with hyperbilirubinemia. Conventional phototherapy consists of a light source situated approximately 20 inches from an infant who is in an isolette and who is equipped with eye patches. A new method of phototherapy, a fiberoptic blanket, wraps light around the infant's torso delivering continuous phototherapy. The infant can remain in the mother's room in an open crib during treatment without the need for eye patches. We have found this system to have many advantages over conventional phototherapy for hospitalized infants with hyperbilirubinemia.