Integrative Care Therapies and Physiological and Pain-related Outcomes in Hospitalized Infants.
BACKGROUND
Pain management is a frequent problem in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Few studies examining effects of integrative care therapies on pain-related outcomes in neonates have included physiological outcomes or investigated the use of such therapies in a practice-based setting.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this practice-based retrospective study was to examine the associations between integrative care therapies, particularly massage and healing touch, and pain-related outcomes among hospitalized infants.


METHODS
We conducted a retrospective review of a clinical database from a level III NICU regularly delivering integrative care therapies. Paired-samples t-tests were used to examine associations between integrative care therapies and 4 pre-post outcome measures: therapist-rated pain and presentation (ranging from asleep to agitated) and neonates' heart rate and oxygen saturation.


RESULTS
Of 186 patients (M age=68 days), 58% were male and 67% were Caucasian. Sixty-two percent received both massage and healing touch; the remainder received a single therapy. From pre-post therapy, statistically significant changes were observed in infants' heart rate (M pre=156 vs M post=140 per minute; P<.001), oxygen saturation (M pre=95.0% vs.M post=97.4%; P<.001), and therapist-reported pain (M pre=2.8 vs M post=0.2; P<.001) and presentation (M pre=3.2 vs. M post=1.0; P<.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Observed improvements in pain-related outcomes suggest that massage and healing touch may be useful integrative therapies to consider as pain management options in the NICU.
Department of Family and Community Medicine, Division of Integrative Medicine, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Ohio, United States (Ms Hathaway).
Elizabeth E
EE
Hathaway
Department of Family and Community Medicine, Division of Integrative Medicine, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Ohio, United States (Ms Luberto).
Christina M
CM
Luberto
Division of Child Life and Integrative Care, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States (Ms Bogenschutz).
Lois H
LH
Bogenschutz
Division of Child Life and Integrative Care, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States (Ms Geiss).
Sue
S
Geiss
Department of Family and Community Medicine, Division of Integrative Medicine, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Ohio, United States (Ms Wasson).
Rachel S
RS
Wasson
Division of Child Life and Integrative Care, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States (Dr Cotton).
Sian
S
Cotton