Thermoregulation: What's New? What's Not?

Developmental care pathway for hospitalised infants with CHD: on behalf of the Cardiac Newborn Neuroprotective Network, a Special Interest Group of the Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Outcome Collaborative

Infants and children born with CHD are at significant risk for neurodevelopmental delays and abnormalities. Individualised developmental care is widely recognised as best practice to support early neurodevelopment for medically fragile infants born premature or requiring surgical intervention after birth. However, wide variability in clinical practice is consistently demonstrated in units caring for infants with CHD. The Cardiac Newborn Neuroprotective Network, a Special Interest Group of the Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Outcome Collaborative, formed a working group of experts to create an evidence-based developmental care pathway to guide clinical practice in hospital settings caring for infants with CHD. The clinical pathway, "Developmental Care Pathway for Hospitalized Infants with Congenital Heart Disease," includes recommendations for standardised developmental assessment, parent mental health screening, and the implementation of a daily developmental care bundle, which incorporates individualised assessments and interventions tailored to meet the needs of this unique infant population and their families. Hospitals caring for infants with CHD are encouraged to adopt this developmental care pathway and track metrics and outcomes using a quality improvement framework.

Transition to a Safe Home Sleep Environment for the NICU Patient

Of the nearly 3.8 million infants born in the United States in 2018, 8.3% had low birth weight (<2500 g [5.5 lb]) and 10% were born preterm (gestational age of <37 completed weeks). Many of these infants and others with congenital anomalies, perinatally acquired infections, and other disease require admission to a NICU. In the past decade, admission rates to NICUs have been increasing; it is estimated that between 10% and 15% of infants will spend time in a NICU, representing approximately 500 000 neonates annually. Approximately 3600 infants die annually in the United States from sleep-related deaths, including sudden infant death syndrome International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (R95), ill-defined deaths (R99), and accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed (W75). Preterm and low birth weight infants are particularly vulnerable, with an incidence of death 2 to 3 times greater than healthy term infants. Thus, it is important for health care professionals to prepare families to maintain their infant in a safe sleep environment, as per the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics. However, infants in the NICU setting commonly require care that is inconsistent with infant sleep safety recommendations. The conflicting needs of the NICU infant with the necessity to provide a safe sleep environment before hospital discharge can create confusion for providers and distress for families. This technical report is intended to assist in the establishment of appropriate NICU protocols to achieve a consistent approach to transitioning NICU infants to a safe sleep environment as soon as medically possible, well before hospital discharge.

Hypothermia on admission to a neonatal intensive care unit in Oromia, western Ethiopia: a case-control study

OBJECTIVE

Hypothermia is believed to affect more than half of Ethiopian neonates. The goal of this study is to determine risk factors for newborn hypothermia in neonates admitted to public hospitals in the east Wollega zone of western Ethiopia's neonatal intensive care unit.

DESIGN

Unmatched case-control study using neonates admitted to the intensive care unit.

SETTING

Neonatal intensive care units at public hospitals in western Ethiopia.

PATIENTS

Neonates admitted to intensive care units.

MAIN OUTCOMES

The cases were all neonates with hypothermia (less than 36.5°C) and the controls were all neonates with a body temperature of greater or equal to 36.5°C when admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit for other reasons.

RESULTS

The study involved the participation of 73 cases and 146 controls. The study found that delayed breastfeeding initiation after 1 hour (adjusted OR (AOR)=3.72; 95% CI: 1.39 to 10.00), admission weight less than 2500 g (AOR=3.43; 95% CI: 1.18 to 9.97), cardiopulmonary resuscitation at birth (AOR=3.42; 95% CI: 1.16 to 10.10.08), lack of immediate skin-to-skin contact with their mother (AOR=4.54; 95% CI: 1.75 to 11.81), night-time delivery (AOR=6.63; 95% CI: 2.23 to 19.77) and not wearing a cap (AOR=2.98; 95% CI: 1.09 to 8.15) were all associated with newborn hypothermia.

CONCLUSIONS

Neonatal hypothermia was associated with obstetric, neonatal and healthcare provider factors. As a result, special consideration should be given to the thermal care of low birthweight neonates and the implementation of warm-chain principles with low-cost thermal protection in Ethiopian public health facilities.

DEVELOPMENT AND TESTS OF A NEONATAL PORTABLE FOLDABLE EMERGENCY INCUBATOR

It is an incubator for emergency premature delivery situations both in the case of need to help the neonate as well as the neonate and mother. It is inexpensive, portable and foldable to fill a reduced space both during storage and transportation. In folded position, it is reduced to a briefcase that can be carried by one person by any conveyance, including a motorcycle. Once deployed, the incubator can keep the neonate lying in its cabin under controlled environmental conditions and it can be attached to any vehicle, using its restraint systems. The briefcase has two parts: the back, containing all the elements for the control of ambient comfort in the incubator and the front cover, which can be moved away from the rest of the briefcase, deploying the cabin. In this cover, there is a transparent window through which the neonate can be introduced in the cabin. The control unit is capable of controlling the ambient temperature, both, in situations of cold and heat, as well as providing means for modifying the oxygen concentration and renewing the air inside the incubator cabin. The air inlet of the cabin is implemented by means of a specifically designed nozzle, able to prevent the formation of air currents inside.

EFEITO DE DUAS TÉCNICAS DE BANHO DE IMERSÃO NA TEMPERATURA AXILAR DE RECÉM-NASCIDOS PRÉ-TERMOS: ESTUDO PILOTO

RESUMO Objetivo: comparar as temperaturas axilares pós-banho de imersão de recém-nascidos pré-termos envoltos e não em lençol. Método: estudo piloto, do tipo ensaio clínico cruzado; participaram 15 neonatos pré-termos, clinicamente estáveis internados na unidade neonatal, que receberam os dois tipos de banho em intervalo, entre 24 e 48 horas, seguindo uma lista de randomização da sequência dos banhos. O teste t-Student pareado e o valor p ≤ 0,05 e IC 95% foram adotados. Resultados: as temperaturas do ambiente pré-banhos e da água do banho e axilar apresentaram homogeneidade entre os grupos. As médias da temperatura axilar dos recém-nascidos no 10°e 20° minutos após os banhos foram similares. Independente da técnica, os recém-nascidos apresentaram leve hipotermia pós-banho. Conclusão: estudos sobre o efeito do banho de imersão nos parâmetros fisiológicos e comportamentais são necessários para avaliar a segurança do procedimento.

Ideal Site for Skin Temperature Probe Placement on Infants in the NICU: A Review of Literature

BACKGROUND

Maintaining normothermia and prevention of hypothermia are critical determinants of morbidity and mortality in infants. Noninvasive monitoring of skin temperature using skin temperature probes (STPs) has been a practice in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) for decades. Incubators and radiant warmers use feedback mechanisms from the STP readings to determine the heat output to maintain normothermia. Placing the STP on an ideal site on the infant's body is essential for optimum servo control of the temperature. More importantly, where is the ideal site for the STP placement? Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) vary on information regarding the site and proper placement of the STPs. The literature is analyzed to identify evidence for the ideal STP placement on infants in NICUs.

PURPOSE

To review the literature for evidence for ideal placement for skin temperature probe placement on an infant.

SEARCH STRATEGY

OVID/MEDLINE, CINAHL, Cochrane databases, and CPGs were searched to identify research, literature reviews, and guidelines for ideal sites for STP placement. Twenty documents were reviewed.

RESULTS

Guidelines vary in suggested sites for STP placement. The majority of the studies compared temperature measurement between abdomen and axilla. Although a Cochrane review found abdominal skin as an ideal site, other studies did not find any difference between axially and abdominal skin temperature measurements.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE AND RESEARCH

Placing the STP on an ideal site is essential for accurate and safe monitoring of skin temperature in infants. NICU nurses are uniquely positioned to undertake research to identify the ideal site for STP placement to guide safe practice and impact optimal neonatal outcome.