title: Developmental intervention for preterm infants diagnosed with periventricular leukomalacia.
abstract: Preterm infants with periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) were evaluated to determine whether multi-sensory stimulation is safe and to assess whether it improved neurobehavior and neurodevelopment. Thirty preterm infants with documented PVL were randomly assigned to control (n= 15) or experimental (Group E) (n= 15) groups at 33 weeks post-conceptional age. Group E infants received 15 minutes of auditory, tactile, visual, and vestibular (ATVV) intervention twice a day, five days a week, for four weeks during hospitalization. Repeated measures ANOVA demonstrated that Group E infants experienced significant increases in heart and respiratory rate and a 0.72% drop in hemoglobin saturation, coinciding with a significant behavioral state shift from sleep to alertness during intervention. No differences were identified in neurobehavioral function and neurodevelopment, indicating that Group E suffered no injury. Group E had an average hospital stay nine days shorter than that of controls, with the associated cost savings of $213,840. The earlier hospital discharge indicates that ATVV intervention promotes alertness without compromising physiologic status in vulnerable infants.
authors: University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Nursing, 60612, USA.
authors: R C
authors: RC
authors: White-Traut
authors: M N
authors: MN
authors: Nelson
authors: J M
authors: JM
authors: Silvestri
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Patel
authors: U
authors: U
authors: Vasan
authors: B K
authors: BK
authors: Han
authors: N
authors: N
authors: Cunningham
authors: K
authors: K
authors: Burns
authors: K
authors: K
authors: Kopischke
authors: L
authors: L
authors: Bradford
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001724:Birth Weight; D002641:Chicago; D002657:Child Development; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal; D015931:Intensive Care, Neonatal / Q000379:methods*; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000191:economics; D007969:Leukomalacia, Periventricular / Q000191:economics / Q000451:nursing* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D010812:Physical Stimulation