The effectiveness of oral motor interventions on the weight gain, independent oral feeding, and length of hospital stay in hospitalized preterm infants: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Oral feeding for preterm infants has been a challenging issue globally. In an effort to enhance the effectiveness of oral feeding in preterm infants, oral motor intervention (OMI) was developed. Present systematic review and meta-analysis study aims to examine the impact of various OMI techniques on key outcomes, including body weight at the time of discharge, the duration required to achieve independent oral feeding, and the length of hospital stay for preterm infants.

METHODS

A systematic search of the literature was performed across various databases such as PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science and Google Scholar up to September 28, 2023. Quality assessment was conducted using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) checklist. The overall effect measure was calculated using a random-effects model and was presented as the standard difference of the mean (SDM), accompanied by the standard error and a 95% confidence interval (CI). We used statistic for investigating the heterogeneity between studies. Data analysis was performed by CMA software (Version 2).

RESULTS

Finally, 22 articles included in this review. The overall effect for body weight at discharge was found to be statistically significant in the prefeeding oral stimulation (PFOS) (SDM = 7.91, 95% CI: 5.62, 10.2,  = 0.000,  = 86.31) and Premature Infant OMI (PIOMI) (SDM = 3.71, 95% CI: 0.72, 6.69,  = 0.01,  = 96.64) groups versus control group. The overall effect of independent oral feeding was significant for PFOS-only (SDM = -0.64, 95% CI: -1.1, -0.17,  = 0.007,  = 75.45), PIOMI only (SDM = -1.48, 95% CI: -2.49, -0.46,  = 0.004,  = 93.73) and nonnutritive sucking (NNS) only (SDM = -0.53, 95% CI: -0.76, -0.30,  = 0.001,  = 0) groups versus control groups. The overall effect of length of hospital stay was significant for NNS group (SDM = -0.45, 95% CI: -0.67, -0.23,  = 0.067,  = 0) and PIOMI group (SDM = -0.42, 95% CI: -0.69, -0.15,  = 0.002,  = 20.18) versus control group.

CONCLUSION

Among OMIs, the PIOMI approach generally exhibited a more favorable impact on body weight gain at discharge, the duration required to achieve independent oral feeding, and the length of hospital stay.