EFFECTIVENESS OF TWO INTERVENTIONS FOR INDEPENDENT ORAL FEEDING IN PRE-TERMS.

INTRODUCTION: Oral feeding of pre-term newborns (PTNB) is hampered by their immaturity and intercurrent diseases, which can prolong their hospital stay. The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a program that combines tactile, kinesthetic and oral stimulation (T+K+OS) compared to another intervention based on exclusively oral stimulation (OS), in the time necessary to achieve independent feeding and hospital discharge.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: A clinical study of two randomized groups (OS versus T+K+OS) was carried out on 42 PTNB with gestational age (GA) between 27-32 weeks and birth weight (BW)> 900 gr. The stimulation programs were carried out in sessions of 15 minutes, for 10 days.

RESULTS: The PTNBs in the ET + K + O group achieved independent oral feeding earlier, compared to the EO group (24.9±10.1 vs 34.1±15.6 days, p=0.02). An analysis of covariance was performed, which confirmed that the BW and GA covariates had significant effects on time to reach suction feeding (BW: F (1, 38) = 5.79; p = 0.021; GA: F (1, 38) = 14.12; p = 0.001) and that once its effect was controlled, the intervention continued to have a significant effect (F (1, 38) = 6.07; p=0.018). The T+K+OS group, compared to the OS group, achieved an earlier hospital discharge (39±15 vs 45±17 days), although the differences were not significant (p=0.21).

CONCLUSIONS: Combined therapies that include kinesthetic, tactile, and oral stimulation are more effective than oral stimulation alone, in order to achieve independent oral feeding in PTNBs.