PLoS ONE (Jan 2019)

Patterned frequency-modulated oral stimulation in preterm infants: A multicenter randomized controlled trial.

  • Dongli Song,
  • Priya Jegatheesan,
  • Suhas Nafday,
  • Kaashif A Ahmad,
  • Jonathan Nedrelow,
  • Mary Wearden,
  • Sheri Nemerofsky,
  • Sunshine Pooley,
  • Diane Thompson,
  • Daniel Vail,
  • Tania Cornejo,
  • Zahava Cohen,
  • Balaji Govindaswami

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0212675
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14, no. 2
p. e0212675

Abstract

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OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the effect of patterned, frequency-modulated oro-somatosensory stimulation on time to full oral feeds in preterm infants born 26-30 weeks gestation. STUDY DESIGN:This is a multicenter randomized controlled trial. The experimental group (n = 109) received patterned, frequency-modulated oral stimulation via the NTrainer system through a pulsatile pacifier and the control group (n = 101) received a non-pulsatile pacifier. Intent-to-treat analysis (n = 210) was performed to compare the experimental and control groups and the outcomes were analyzed using generalized estimating equations. Time-to-event analyses for time to reach full oral feeds and length of hospital stay were conducted using Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS:The experimental group had reduction in time to full oral feeds compared to the control group (-4.1 days, HR 1.37 (1.03, 1.82) p = 0.03). In the 29-30 weeks subgroup, infants in the experimental group had a significant reduction in time to discharge (-10 days, HR 1.87 (1.23, 2.84) p < 0.01). This difference was not observed in the 26-28 weeks subgroup. There was no difference in growth, mortality or morbidities between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS:Patterned, frequency-modulated oro-somatosensory stimulation improves feeding development in premature infants and reduces their length of hospitalization. TRIAL REGISTRATION:ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01158391.