Effect of Different Positions on Arterial Oxygen Saturation during Enteral Feeding of Preterm Infants Admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Units

Background: This study aimed to determine the effects of various positions on the arterial oxygen saturation during enteral feeding of preterm infants admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs). It is assumed that different body positions influence arterial oxygen saturation during enteral feeding.Methods: This crossover clinical trial included 88 infants. The inclusion criteria were gestation age of fewer than 32 weeks, a weight of 1001-1500 gr, age of fewer than one month, 5-minute Apgar score of at least 5, exclusive breast-feeding, absence of any underlying illness, no oxygen therapy, and a minimum feed volume of 10cc for two h. The subjects were selected from the infants admitted to NICUs at Alzahra, Shahid Beheshti, and Amin hospitals, Isfahan, Iran, using a convenience sampling method. Subsequently, they were randomly assigned to four groups of 22 cases per group. The four groups were A, B, C, and D who were initially positioned on the left side, supine, prone, and right side, respectively. The arterial oxygen saturation was recorded on a minute-by-minute basis 5 min before, during, and 5 min after enteral feeding. Data were analyzed in STATA software (version 14) using a one-way analysis of variance, (ANOVA), linear mixed model, and the Chi-square test.Results: According to the results of the one-way ANOVA and Chi-square test, no significant difference was observed among the four groups regarding the demographic characteristics. Moreover, the linear mixed model revealed no significant difference among the four groups of intervention, the four periods of the study, and carryover effect in terms of the mean oxygen saturation before, during, and after enteral feeding.Conclusion: The results revealed that variations in infant positions during feeding had no effects on the arterial oxygen saturation. Therefore, neonatal nurses are advised to carry out enteral feeding without unnecessary changing of the infant position, which leads to lower manipulation, and improved sleep and awakening cycle of the infants.