SSSH: Responsive soothing bassinet feasibility study for infants with congenital heart disease after cardiac surgery

Abstract

PurposeFor infants with congenital heart disease (CHD) requiring surgery, prolonged hospital stays, intermittent caregiver visitation, and constrained unit staffing ratios present barriers to adequately address post-operative stressors and associated need to retain cognitive and physiological reserves. Similar patients requiring high-engagement interventions, such as hospitalized infants with neonatal abstinence syndrome, have found success in utilizing responsive bassinets to soothe infants and save floor nurses' time. However, it remains unclear if such technology can be leveraged in the CHD population given their complex hemodynamics, feeding intolerance, and monitoring requirements. MethodsThis multidisciplinary feasibility study evaluated responsive bassinet use in a cohort of infants with CHD <6 months of age in a medical-surgical unit at a midwestern children's hospital. Specifically assessing 1) implementation requirements, challenges, and potential of utilizing the device, together with 2) ability to perform bedside monitoring (monitoring) and 3) measuring physiologic trends during use. ResultsBetween 11/2020–1/2022, nine infants utilized a responsive bassinet over 599 h (mean 13, range 4–26 days per infant). No increase in monitoring alarms and accurate vital signs monitoring during bassinet activity were noted with appropriate physiologic responses for infants with single ventricle and biventricular surgeries. ConclusionsFeasibility of introducing new technology into care, and successful use of its functionality for soothing was found to be plausible for infants with CHD. Practice implicationsAfter cardiac surgery, infants with CHD have need for interventions to reduce stress. Use of a soothing bassinet has the potential to aid in doing so without interference with monitoring requirements.