Abstract
Several recent intraventricular hemorrhage prevention bundles include midline head positioning to prevent potential disturbances in cerebral hemodynamics. We aimed to study the impact of head position change on regional cerebral saturations (SctO2) in preterm infants (< 30 weeks gestational age) during the first 3 days of life. Bilateral SctO2 was measured by near-infrared spectroscopy. The infant's head was turned sequentially to each side from midline (baseline) in 30-minute intervals while keeping the body supine. Bilateral SctO2 before and after each position change were compared using paired t-test. In relatively stable preterm infants (gestational age 26.5 ± 1.7 weeks, birth weight 930 ± 220 g; n = 20), bilateral SctO2 remained within normal range (71.1-75.3%) when the head was turned from midline position to either side. Stable preterm infants tolerated brief changes in head position from midline without significant alternation in bilateral SctO2; the impact on critically ill infants needs further evaluation.
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