Prefeeding interventions improve oral feeding in preterm infants.

Abstract

To assess whether oral stimulation (OS), nonnutritive sucking (NNS) and combined tactile/kinesthetic (T/K) interventions can improve the effects of oral feeding in preterm infants. A retrospective review was performed from 2014 to 2016, in which one hundred thirty preterm infants were separated into two intervention groups (the OS+NNS group and the OS+NNS+T/K group) and one control group. Infants in the two intervention groups received 30min of interventions a day. All interventions started 48h after stopping nasal continuous positive airway pressure until participants reached complete oral feeding. The transition times of the OS+NNS, OS+NNS+T/K, and control groups from the introduction of oral feeding to independent oral feeding were 9.03±0.58, 7.20±0.28, and 12.17±0.64 days, respectively (P<0.05). The infants' weights at full oral feeding in the OS+NNS, OS+NNS+T/K, and control groups were 1834.58±47.96, 1999.17±92.62, and 1725.87±40.34g, respectively (P=0.007). Further post hoc analyses indicated that the weight gain at full oral feeding in the OS+NNS and OS+NNS+T/K groups were more significant than the control group (P= 0.012 and P= 0.036, respectively)Conclusion: OS+NNS and OS+NNS+T/K interventions could shorten the transition time from tube feeding to independent oral feeding; OS+NNS and OS+NNS+T/K interventions improved weight gain compared to the control group. Furthermore, the OS+NNS+T/K group was superior to the OS+NNS group regarding transition time and weight gain.