BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:Hypothermia contributes to neonatal mortality and morbidity, especially in preterm and low birth weight infants in developing countries. Plastic bags covering the trunk and extremities of very low birth weight infants reduces hypothermia. This technique has not been studied in larger infants or in many resource-limited settings. The objective was to determine if placing preterm and low birth weight infants inside a plastic bag at birth maintains normothermia. METHODS:Infants at 26 to 36 weeks' gestational age and/or with a birth weight of 1000 to 2500 g born at the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka, Zambia, were randomized by using a 1:1 allocation and parallel design to standard thermoregulation (blanket or radiant warmer) care or to standard thermoregulation care plus placement inside a plastic bag at birth. The primary outcome measure was axillary temperature in the World Health Organization-defined normal range (36.5-37.5°C) at 1 hour after birth. RESULTS: A total of 104 infants were randomized. At 1 hour after birth, infants randomized to plastic bag (n = 49) were more likely to have a temperature in the normal range as compared with infants in the standard thermoregulation care group (n = 55; 59.2% vs 32.7%; relative risk 1.81; 95% confidence interval 1.16-2.81; P = .007). The temperature at 1 hour after birth in the infants randomized to plastic bag was 36.5 ± 0.5°C compared with 36.1 ± 0.6°C in standard care infants (P < .001). Hyperthermia (>38.0°C) did not occur in any infant. CONCLUSIONS: Placement of preterm/low birth weight infants inside a plastic bag at birth compared with standard thermoregulation care reduced hypothermia without resulting in hyperthermia, and is a low-cost, low-technology tool for resource-limited settings.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:Hypothermia contributes to neonatal mortality and morbidity, especially in preterm and low birth weight infants in developing countries. Plastic bags covering the trunk and extremities of very low birth weight infants reduces hypothermia. This technique has not been studied in larger infants or in many resource-limited settings. The objective was to determine if placing preterm and low birth weight infants inside a plastic bag at birth maintains normothermia. METHODS:Infants at 26 to 36 weeks' gestational age and/or with a birth weight of 1000 to 2500 g born at the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka, Zambia, were randomized by using a 1:1 allocation and parallel design to standard thermoregulation (blanket or radiant warmer) care or to standard thermoregulation care plus placement inside a plastic bag at birth. The primary outcome measure was axillary temperature in the World Health Organization-defined normal range (36.5-37.5°C) at 1 hour after birth. RESULTS: A total of 104 infants were randomized. At 1 hour after birth, infants randomized to plastic bag (n = 49) were more likely to have a temperature in the normal range as compared with infants in the standard thermoregulation care group (n = 55; 59.2% vs 32.7%; relative risk 1.81; 95% confidence interval 1.16-2.81; P = .007). The temperature at 1 hour after birth in the infants randomized to plastic bag was 36.5 ± 0.5°C compared with 36.1 ± 0.6°C in standard care infants (P < .001). Hyperthermia (>38.0°C) did not occur in any infant. CONCLUSIONS: Placement of preterm/low birth weight infants inside a plastic bag at birth compared with standard thermoregulation care reduced hypothermia without resulting in hyperthermia, and is a low-cost, low-technology tool for resource-limited settings.
Entities:
Keywords:
diseases/prevention and control; hypothermia/prevention and control; infant newborn; infant premature; perinatal care/methods
Authors: Luke C Mullany; Joanne Katz; Subarna K Khatry; Steven C LeClerq; Gary L Darmstadt; James M Tielsch Journal: Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med Date: 2010-07
Authors: Li Liu; Hope L Johnson; Simon Cousens; Jamie Perin; Susana Scott; Joy E Lawn; Igor Rudan; Harry Campbell; Richard Cibulskis; Mengying Li; Colin Mathers; Robert E Black Journal: Lancet Date: 2012-05-11 Impact factor: 79.321
Authors: M Balakrishnan; N Falk-Smith; L A Detman; B Miladinovic; W M Sappenfield; J S Curran; T L Ashmeade Journal: J Perinatol Date: 2017-04-13 Impact factor: 2.521
Authors: Theodore C Belsches; Alyssa E Tilly; Tonya R Miller; Rohan H Kambeyanda; Alicia Leadford; Albert Manasyan; Elwyn Chomba; Manimaran Ramani; Namasivayam Ambalavanan; Waldemar A Carlo Journal: Pediatrics Date: 2013-08-26 Impact factor: 7.124
Authors: Ulrich Terheggen; Christian Heiring; Mattias Kjellberg; Fredrik Hegardt; Martin Kneyber; Maurizio Gente; Charles C Roehr; Gilles Jourdain; Pierre Tissieres; Padmanabhan Ramnarayan; Morten Breindahl; Johannes van den Berg Journal: Pediatr Res Date: 2020-07-07 Impact factor: 3.756
Authors: John P Elder; Willo Pequegnat; Saifuddin Ahmed; Gretchen Bachman; Merry Bullock; Waldemar A Carlo; Venkatraman Chandra-Mouli; Nathan A Fox; Sara Harkness; Gillian Huebner; Joan Lombardi; Velma McBride Murry; Allisyn Moran; Maureen Norton; Jennifer Mulik; Will Parks; Helen H Raikes; Joseph Smyser; Caroline Sugg; Michael Sweat; Nurper Ulkuer Journal: J Health Commun Date: 2014
Authors: Karsten Lunze; Kojo Yeboah-Antwi; David R Marsh; Sarah Ngolofwana Kafwanda; Austen Musso; Katherine Semrau; Karen Z Waltensperger; Davidson H Hamer Journal: PLoS One Date: 2014-04-08 Impact factor: 3.240