Background
Feeding interventions for preterm infants aim to reduce the physiologic stress of feeding to promote growth. Heart rate variability (HRV) is a potential non-invasive measure of physiologic stress that may be useful for evaluating efficacy of feeding interventions.
Purpose
To evaluate whether HRV is a sensitive measure of physiologic stress compared to standard physiologic outcomes in the context of a feeding intervention study.
Methods
This was secondary analysis of a within-subjects, cross-over design study comparing usual care feeding to a gentle, co-regulated feeding approach (CoReg) in 14 infants born < 35 weeks post-menstrual age. HRV indices were calculated from electrocardiogram data and compared to standard physiologic outcomes, including oxygen saturation (SpO2), respiratory rate (RR), apnea, heart rate (HR), and bradycardia. Data were analyzed using linear mixed modeling.
Results
Infants fed using the CoReg approach had fewer apneic events and higher RR, suggesting they were able to breathe more during feeding. No statistically significant differences were found in SpO2, HR, bradycardia, or high frequency power (the most commonly-reported measure of HRV). Infants fed using the usual care approach had significantly higher SD12, a measure of HRV indicating randomness in the HR, which is a potential indicator of elevated stress.
Implications for Practice
SD12 was more sensitive to stress than SpO2, HR, and bradycardia. The utility of HRV as a measure of feeding outcomes in clinical practice needs further exploration.
Implications for Research
Further exploration of HRV as an intervention outcome measure is needed, particularly evaluating non-linear indices, such as SD12.