In Reply: Phototherapy Effect on the Incidence of Patent Ductus Arteriosus

Abstract

I am sure that Dr Rojas' observation of the shield depicted in our article led to his calculation of 40% loss of the available skin surface. This patient represented one of the earliest entered into the study. After our first few patients, the size of the shield was considerably decreased. In general, the size of shields for 1, 000-g patients is approximately 4 x 5 cm. We have measured the area of the chest and abdominal surfaces and compared this to the area of the shield. The area covered by the shield covered 17% to 25% of the trunk surface in patients we measured.