Skin Punctures in Preterm Infants in the First 2 Weeks of Life

Abstract

Objective The objective of this study was to investigate frequency and trends of skin punctures in preterm infants.

Study Design A prospective audit of preterm infants less than 35 weeks admitted over a 6-month period to a tertiary neonatal intensive care unit. Each skin puncture performed in the first 2 weeks of life was documented in a specifically designed audit sheet.

Results Ninety-nine preterm infants were enrolled. Infants born at < 32 weeks' gestation had significantly more skin punctures than infants > 32 weeks (median skin punctures 26.5 vs. 17, p-value < 0.05). The highest frequency of skin punctures occurred during the first week of life for infants > 28 weeks' gestation (medians 17.5 in 28–31 + 6 weeks' gestation, and 15 in > 32 weeks), and during the second week of life for those born at < 28 weeks (median 17.5). Infants with sepsis had more skin punctures (p-value < 0.001), but this was not significant on multivariate analysis. Median skin punctures in the second week of life were statistically higher in the sepsis group on multivariate analysis (odds ratio: 1.07, 95% confidence interval: 1.00–1.14, p = 0.041).

Conclusion Frequency of skin punctures is influenced by gestational age and postnatal age. Skin punctures were not an independent risk factor for sepsis.

Keywords

neonatal intensive care - newborn - infant - preterm - procedure - sepsis

Authors' Contributions

E.M.D. and D.F. conceived and designed the study. D.F., D.B., and O.S. acquired the data. V.L. analyzed the data. D.F., D.B., and E.M.D. interpreted the data. D.F. drafted the article. D.F., D.B., O.S., and E.M.D. critically revised the article for important intellectual content. All authors agreed on the final article and approved its submission for publication. D.F. will act as guarantor for the article.

Ethical Approval

Ethical approval was granted by both Cork University Maternity Hospital and University College Cork Research Ethics Committees' in November 2012.

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