ALBUMIN ADMINISTRATION COMBINED WITH PHOTOTHERAPY IN TREATMENT OF HYPERBILIRUBINAEMIA IN LOW-BIRTH-WEIGHT INFANTS

Abstract

Fifty-nine jaundiced light-treated newborn infants with low birth weight were studied. At onset of phototherapy 30 infants received 1 g human serum albumin/kg body weight as a 9% solution containing sodium caprylate and N-acetyltryptophan as stabilizers. Twenty-nine infants did not receive human serum albumin and served as controls. Blood samples were taken before initiation of the therapy and again 24 and 48 h thereafter. Serum concentrations of unconjugated bilirubin, albumin, reserve albumin for binding of bilirubin by the [14C]-MADDS [monoacetyl-diaminodiphenylsulfone] method, packed cell volume and pH. Before infusion of albumin it was found that the binding fraction of serum albumin, i.e., the sum of the serum concentrations of bilirubin-albumin and reserve albumin, constituted about half of the total serum albumin concentration. The other half was nonbinding in agreement with previous findings in neonates. The effect of albumin therapy was mainly an unexpected increase of the nonbinding fraction of serum albumin, while the increase of the serum reserve albumin concentration was small and the concentration of bilirubin-albumin was not changed.