Treating Jaundiced Neonates in Low- and Middle-income Countries with Locally Redesigned Phototherapy Lamps Sourced from Biomedical Wastes

middle-income countries are usually obsolete or near end of life. Putting them back into value chain provides opportunities for remanufacturing, repair, redesigning or recycling which have not been fully exploited in these regions. The study assessed the efficacy of waste phototherapy lamps that were locally redesigned for the treatment of neonatal jaundice at the University College Hospital, Ibadan. A semi-structured and interviewer administered questionnaire was used to obtain information from 88 mothers and their jaundiced babies. Besides, through a clinical trial, blood samples were taken to assess Total Serum Bilirubin (TSB) of the neonates before treatment commenced and at every six hours into therapy until the intervention was complete. The TSB levels of the jaundiced neonates were measured in the laboratory at 0 hour, 6 hour, 12 hour, 24 hour, and 48 hour. Two phototherapy lamps were redesigned and fabricated locally (F1, F2) and compared to conventional lamps (CI and C2). The mean age of the jaundiced neonates was 3.5±1.7 days, 59.1% were male, 79.5% weighed >2.5kg and 25% were preterm neonates. The healthcare worker had adequate knowledge about symptoms of neonatal jaundice, severe hyperbilirubinemia and phototherapy but limited knowledge about the causes of neonatal jaundice. The rate of reduction of TSB between 6-hour and 48-hour in the F1, F2, CI and C2 were 69.9%, 73.1%, 58.7, and 57.2% respectively. There were no significant differences in the rate of TSB reduction among the lamps (P>0.05). The lamps met with all the local and global specifications and are found effective in treating neonatal jaundice.