Skin-to-skin care in preterm infants receiving respiratory support does not lead to physiological instability.

OBJECTIVE

Providing skin-to-skin care (SSC) to preterm infants is standard practice in many neonatal intensive care units. There are conflicting reports on the stability of oxygen saturation (SpO) during SSC, which may create a barrier to a wider implementation of SSC to infants receiving respiratory support. Regional cerebral oxygenation (rcO) measured using near-infrared spectroscopy can serve as a surrogate parameter for cerebral oxygen delivery and consumption. We hypothesised that rcO during SSC would be similar to standard care in preterm infants receiving respiratory support.

DESIGN

Prospective observational non-inferiority study.

SETTING

Single tertiary perinatal centre in Australia.

PATIENTS

Forty preterm infants (median (IQR) of 27.6 (26.0-28.9) weeks' gestation) receiving respiratory support were studied on day 8 (5-18).

INTERVENTIONS

Ninety minutes of SSC, with infants in incubators acting as their own control. Parents and caregivers were blinded to the measurements.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Mean difference in rcO between SSC and incubator care; as well as heart rate (HR), SpO, fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO) and temperature, were compared using a paired t-test.

RESULTS

rcO was similar during SSC (mean (SD) 74.9 (6.5)%)% compared with incubator care (74.7 (6.1)%, mean difference (95% CI) 0.2 (-0.8 to 1.1)%, p=0.71). No clinically important differences in HR, SpO, FiO or temperature were observed in the whole cohort and by mode of respiratory support (endotracheal tube mechanical ventilation, continuous positive airway pressure and high-flow nasal cannulae).

CONCLUSIONS

Cerebral oxygenation and other physiological measurements in ventilated preterm infants did not differ between SSC and incubator care.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

12615000959572.