Management and Thermal Comfort of Premature Infants Under 32 Weeks

Although sleep is of paramount importance for preterm neonates, care of the latter in a neonatal intensive care unit does not favour sleep. Given that several studies in adults have described a 'vegetative preparedness to sleep' (in which distal skin vasodilation before lights-out promotes rapid sleep onset), the investigators looked at whether or not this process operates in preterm neonates. Sleep propensity was assessed in terms of the duration of a spontaneous episode of wakefulness (W). Skin temperatures at six body sites (the abdomen, pectoral region, eye, hand, thigh and foot) were measured (using infrared thermography) during nocturnal polysomnography in 29 9-day-old preterm neonates (postmenstrual age: 209 9 days).

Inclusion criteria

• premature newborns 25 to 32 weeks of amenorrhea;
• arrival in the Neonatal Medicine Unit <12 hours of life;
• need for management in a closed incubator;
• availability of an incubator equipped with communication card.

Exclusion criteria

• premature newborns> 32 weeks of amenorrhea;
• arrival in the Neonatal Medicine unit after 12 hours of life;
• presence of malformation syndrome or serious heart disease;
• pathology requiring management within the first 10 days of life;
• Apgar score <5 at 10 minutes of life;
• need for initial management in an open incubator;
• unavailability of an incubator equipped with a communication card