Developmental intervention for preterm infants diagnosed with periventricular leukomalacia.
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.
White-Traut
R C
RC
University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Nursing, 60612, USA.
Nelson
M N
MN
Silvestri
J M
JM
Patel
M
M
Vasan
U
U
Han
B K
BK
Cunningham
N
N
Burns
K
K
Kopischke
K
K
Bradford
L
L
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