A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial Examining the Safety and Efficacy of Therapeutic Touch in Premature Infants

Whitley, Julie Anne; Rich, B

doi:10.1097/01.anc.0000342764.71864.28

Cited by 15 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…This Therapeutic Touch study 45 is different from many of the studies examined in this review in that it provided a nonphysical touch method to decrease stress and foster homeostasis. The investigators' main purpose was to demonstrate that Therapeutic Touch could be delivered without adverse effects and could reduce stress in physiologically fragile very preterm infants.…”

Section: Therapeutic Touchmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…Similar to the massage studies in older and healthier preterm infants, many of the studies in this review have employed varying types of comforting and supplemental touch including noncontact touch, 45 still touch, 46,50-53 light stroking touch, 48,54 and moderate stroking with kinesthetic activity. 25,31 The duration of each touch session (ranging from 3 minutes to 20 minutes per session), the number of times per day (1 to 4 times per day), the number of total days (3 days through total hospital stay), and the amount of pressure (moderate vs light) all varied.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…45,46,48,50,53,54 Of the 11 studies in this review, only 2 studies 25,32 examined both short-and longterm effects of comforting touch with the remaining studies examining immediate behavioral and physiologic outcomes. Of these 2 studies, only 1 examined the neurodevelopmental impact of comforting touch.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Like many of the studies in this review, 45,46,48,50,53,54 the sample is small and additional research to further substantiate the findings is needed. In addition, the study did not address the infant's prestimulus behavioral state nor was there an attempt to control for infant behavioral state during the procedure.…”

Section: Social Stimulationmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…The study selection process is outlined in the Figure. Of the 11 studies, 2 evaluated infant massage, 25,31 5 GHT, 46,50-53 2 TAC-TIC therapy, 48,54 1 social stimulation including touch, 49 and 1 therapeutic touch. 45 A range of study methodologies was reviewed, including random ized controlled trials (RCTs), 25,45,[50][51][52][53] follow-up outcomes of these RCTs, 31,52 pretest/ posttest time series interrupted design, 48,54 a quasiexperimental, 46 and an observational, counterbalanced across-session and infants design. 49 Of the and improved neurologic, motor and behavioral development [29][30][31][32] ), many of the existing studies have varying protocols, are limited to healthy or convalescing preterm infants greater than or equal to 32 weeks' postmenstr ual age (PMA), and are seldom contingent on infant cues.…”

Section: Selection Of Eligible Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Comforting Touch in the Very Preterm Hospitalized Infant

Smith¹

2012

Advances in Neonatal Care

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Infants born prematurely lose the protection of the uterus at a time of fetal development when the brain is growing and organizing exponentially. Environmental factors such as stress in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) may play a role in altered brain maturation and neurobehavioral outcomes. Strategies aimed at reducing stress and promoting infant well-being are essential to improve neurologic and behavioral outcomes. Infant massage is a developmentally supported strategy aimed at promoting relaxation. However, despite the well-documented benefits of infant massage, infants born very preterm (≤30 weeks' gestation) are often excluded from these studies, leaving neonatal clinicians and families without guidance in how to provide a stress-reducing supplemental touch. Much of the touch in the NICU is a procedural touch, and infants born very preterm often miss out on comforting touch stimulation. A systematic review of the literature is presented with an aim to explore the research that examines the various comforting touch therapies used on hospitalized NICU infants born very preterm within the first few days of postnatal life. The purpose of this review was to identify appropriate stress-reducing comforting touch techniques for physiologically fragile very preterm infants in order to inform and provide guidance to neonatal clinicians and families.

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Section: Therapeutic Touchmentioning

confidence: 88%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Social Stimulationmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Selection Of Eligible Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Comforting Touch in the Very Preterm Hospitalized Infant

Smith¹

2012

Advances in Neonatal Care

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Modalities of Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Misra

Kaplan

Verissimo

2014

SpringerBriefs in Public Health

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Kangaroo Care modifies preterm infant heart rate variability in response to heel stick pain: Pilot study

Cong

Ludington‐Hoe

McCain

et al. 2009

Early Human Development

136

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Background Heel stick is the most common painful procedure for preterm infants in neonatal intensive care units. Resultant pain causes adverse physiological effects in major organ systems. Kangaroo Care (KC), involving mother-infant skin-to-skin contact is a promising analgesic for infant pain; however, the effect of KC on the autonomic nervous system's response to pain is unknown. Aim To determine if KC results in improved balance in autonomic responses to heel stick pain than the standard method where infants remain in an incubator care (IC) for the heel stick. Study Design A randomized cross-over trial. Subjects Fourteen preterm infants, 30-32 weeks gestational age and less than 9 days postnatal age. Outcome Measures Infant behavioral state, heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV) indices including low frequency (LF) and high frequency (HF) power, and the LF/HF ratio measured over Baseline, Heel Warming, Heel Stick, and Recovery periods in KC and IC conditions. Results HRV differences between KC and IC were that LF was higher in KC at Baseline (p<.01) and at Heel Stick (p< .001), and HF was higher in KC at Baseline than in the IC condition (p< .05). The LF/HF ratio had less fluctuation across the periods in KC than in IC condition and was significantly lower during Recovery in KC than in IC (p< .001). Conclusions Infants experienced better balance in response in KC than IC condition as shown by more autonomic stability during heel stick. KC may be helpful in mediating physiologic response to painful procedures in preterm infants.

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A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial Examining the Safety and Efficacy of Therapeutic Touch in Premature Infants

Abstract: In this pilot trial, HPV showed an increase for the TT group compared with the NTT group. The study reveals no adverse effects of TT in preterm infants.

Cited by 15 publications

References 18 publications

Comforting Touch in the Very Preterm Hospitalized Infant

Comforting Touch in the Very Preterm Hospitalized Infant

Modalities of Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Kangaroo Care modifies preterm infant heart rate variability in response to heel stick pain: Pilot study

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