The introduction of a simulated thermoregulation intervention to improve very low birth weight infant initial admission temperatures in a neonatal intensive care unit

Abstract

Premature infant thermoregulation is a critical, yet challenging, component of neonatal resuscitation. Admission hypothermia is associated with multiple negative outcomes in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. This study assessed the effect of a thermoregulation-focused simulation intervention on VLBW infant’s initial admission temperatures within a level 4 neonatal intensive care unit. Seven multidisciplinary simulations were run in 2018 involving multiple members of the neonatal resuscitation team and led by neonatal fellows. Admission temperatures, gestational age, birth weight, maternal chorioamnionitis, antenatal steroids, caesarian section rate and need for intubation during the initial resuscitation were compared from 2019, the year following the simulation intervention, to 2017, the year preceding the simulation. Simulation participant data were collected. Admission temperatures in VLBW infants increased from 36.0°C in 2017 to 36.5°C in 2019 following the simulation intervention ( This study demonstrated that the initiation of a thermoregulation simulation intervention has the potential to improve VLBW infant admission temperatures and supports the benefits of simulation-based training.