Clinical validation of the Preterm Oral Feeding Readiness Assessment Scale.

INTRODUCTION Health professionals have great difficulties to establish the adequate and safe time to start breast feeding in preterm infants. There is a need to develop a standardized tool to help health professionals to comprehensively evaluate preterm infant readiness to transition preterm infants' feeding from gastric to oral, and encourage breast feeding practice in neonatal units. AIMS To clinical validate the accuracy of a Preterm Oral Feeding Readiness Assessment Scale with 60 clinically stable preterm infants. METHODS Global accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of Preterm Oral Feeding Readiness Assessment Scale cut-offs, compared to milk intake through translactation, were estimated through ROC curves (Receiver Operating Characteristic Curves). RESULTS The global accuracy of Preterm Oral Feeding Readiness Assessment Scale was 74.38%. The highest sensitivity and specificity were obtained for three cut-offs: 28, 29 and 30. Since higher specificity (75.68%) for the Preterm Oral Feeding Readiness Assessment Scale was found at a score cut-off=of 30 showed higher specificity (75.68%), it should be used as a cut-off score to select initiate breastfeeding the preterm newborns' oral feeding readiness. CONCLUSION The Preterm Oral Feeding Readiness Assessment Scale is considered valid to assist health professionals to initiate preterm feeding in view of promoting safe and objective breastfeeding.