Effect of Tilting on Cerebral Hemodynamics in Preterm and Term Infants

Abstract

Tilting is known to cause changes in hemodynamics due to hydrostatic pressure. The present study is an analysis of changes in cerebral hemodynamics measured by near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) following tilting up and down in preterm and term infants. A significantly different effect of tilting up in comparison to tilting down on total hemoglobin in preterm infants and on the ‘hemoglobin oxygenation index’ in preterm and term infants was observed. In preterm infants, tilting up and down had a significantly different effect on cerebral blood volume (CBV), with an increase after tilting down and a decrease after tilting up. In term infants, tilting had no significant effect on CBV comparing these two procedures. We think that NIRS provides a good method to measure cerebral hemodynamics following tilting, whereby different reactions in infants of different postconceptional age can be observed.