Sensorimotor therapy and time to full oral feeding in <33weeks infants

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Previous research has shown that oral stimulation improves feeding skills in preterm infants. However, it remains unclear whether other sensorimotor therapies have similar effect. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of sensorimotor therapy on the time to reach full oral feeding (FOF) in infants <33weeks. METHODS: Retrospective review compared two time periods between 2009 and 2014, before (PRE TX) and after (POST TX) initiation of sensorimotor therapy to infants <33weeks. Type and number of sensorimotor therapy, time to FOF and length of stay (LOS) were collected. Statistical analysis used SPSS 22 for descriptive, non-parametric testing, chi-square and multivariate linear regression computation. RESULTS: Of 245 records, 137 were excluded due to death, record unavailability/incompleteness or transfer. The remaining 55 in PRE TX and 53 in POST TX infants differed by small for gestational age (SGA) (36.4% vs. 28.3%, p=0.02); sepsis (81.8% vs. 54.7%, p=0.002); patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) (5.5% vs. 22.6%, p=0.01) and bradycardia (47.3% vs. 83%, p<0.0001). Infants in (POST TX) achieved FOF in 6.3+/-4.3days vs. 8.8+/-6.6days in (PRE TX) (p=0.02); their LOS was 56.8+/-26.4 vs. 52.2+/-25.1 (p=0.36). Predictors of days to FOF were any number of therapy sessions (beta=-4.31; 95% CI: -6.47:-2.15), LOS (beta=0.05; 95% CI: 0.004:0.09), PDA (beta=3.23; 95% CI: 0.27:6.19) and bradycardia (beta=2.94; 95% CI: 0.62:5.26). CONCLUSION: Providing any type of sensorimotor therapy decreased time to reach FOF in infants <33weeks. Structured guidelines may help optimize this effect.