Safety and efficacy of Vinyl bags in prevention of hypothermia of preterm neonates at birth

Abstract

The present study was planned to evaluate the safety and efficacy of vinyl bags in prevention of hypothermia during resuscitation at birth in very low birth weight neonates. Sixty neonates of gestational age ≤32 weeks and birth weight ≤ 1500gm were randomised to either study group, or control group. Study group neonates were put in vinyl bags up to neck and the head was covered with a cap after drying immediately following delivery and resuscitated under radiant warmer. Control group neonates were resuscitated by conventional drying under radiant warmer. Mean axillary and rectal temperature recorded immediately after admission to NICU were significantly higher in the study group compared to control group. Temperature recorded after 1 hour of admission to NICU were however comparable between the two groups. As temperature maintenance in these VLBW neonates is of tremendous importance, it would make sense to recommend the use of vinyl bags during their resuscitation.

Heat Loss Prevention (Help) After Birth in Preterm Infants Using Vinyl Isolation Bag or Polyethylene Wrap

“…Our comparison of the results of the studies available in the literature with those of our study showed that body temperatures rose within the first one hour only in the study by Gathwala et al. (). It was thought that this result might have arisen from the severe hypothermia suffered by infants of lower gestational age, bodyweight, and Apgar score of infants in our study group.…”

“…() determined that the body temperature of infants placed in vinyl isolation bags (35.8 °C) was higher than that of infants who received standard care (34.9 °C) ( N = 27). The results of a study Gathwala, Singh, and Agrawal () comparing the standard care procedure with the use of vinyl isolation bags showed that the body temperatures of infants in the study group rose from 36.06 °C to 36.59 °C at the end of one hour and those of the control group rose from 35.34 °C to 36.47 °C ( N = 60). In a comparison of polyethylene caps, polyethylene occlusive wrapping, and standard care, Trevisanuto et al.…”

The global burden of neonatal hypothermia: systematic review of a major challenge for newborn survival

“…While one recent study failed to show an effect of wrapping on hypothermia rates [64], others found that this approach effectively raised body temperature [65,66] and did so more quickly than radiant heaters [67,68], however did not reduce mortality [69]. …”

Wrapping newborn infants in cloth and newspaper after delivery led to higher temperatures on arrival at the neonatal intensive care unit

“…Transparent vinyl bags have been shown to significantly reduce heat loss in neonates, and studies have shown that they reduce evaporative loss and allow radiant heat to reach the newborn infant . However, their availability at a community level hinders their use.…”