Plastic drapes reduce incidence of hypothermia in very low birth weight infants

Most babies born prematurely or with health problems are quickly taken to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) where they may need assisted heaters to regulate their temperature. A researcher from the University of Houston College of Nursing reports that the traditional use of cloth blankets and towels during the placement of a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) can hamper the heat transfer of the mechanisms of the patient. assisted heating, increasing the risk of neonatal hypothermia. In Advances in neonatal careClinical assistant professor Huong (Kelle) Phan reports that a plastic sheet reduces the incidence of hypothermia.

“The use of the plastic sheet is a quality improvement to reduce the rate of hypothermia in very low birth weight infants (VLBW) by replacing the cloth blankets / towels with a plastic sheet during delivery. setting up the PICC, “Phan said. “A plastic drape shows promise for improving nursing practice by providing improved thermoregulation for preterm infants during PICC placement.”

When a premature baby’s body temperature drops below 36.5 ° C, the baby may experience cold stress, which is a cause for concern. The recommended temperature range for postnatal stabilization is 36.5 ° to 37.5 ° C.

Phan’s research project included the implementation of plastic sheets over three months, during 58 PICC procedures in a level 3 neonatal intensive care unit. A pre- / post-test was used to assess the patient’s condition. impact of the intervention on hypothermia rates compared to a baseline tissue group and concurrent tissue cohort.

“After the 3-month implementation period, the hypothermia rate for the intervention group was lower than for the baseline tissue group (5.2% and 11.3%, respectively). ‘post-PICC hypothermia were significantly lower for the intervention group than for the concurrent tissue cohort, ”Phan said.

This evidence demonstrated that plastic sheets reduced the rate of hypothermia in the NICU for LVTN newborns during PICC placement compared to blankets or cloth towels.

“Phan’s innovative nursing intervention of using the plastic sheet during PICC insertion helps some of our most vulnerable patients, infants who need to be treated in neonatal intensive care units,” said Kathryn Tart, Founding Dean and Humana Endowed Dean Chair in Nursing, UH College of Nursing.

Phan recommends further research to replicate the results with larger samples of PICC insertions, using a plastic sheet in the operating room and other NICU procedures.