Purpose/Objectives:
The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of servo control versus air temperature control on weight gain in neonatal infants in incubators. With this study, we hope to determine and validate the best thermoregulation practice.
Significance:
The practice of maintaining thermoregulation for premature infants in our neonatal intensive care unit and in NICUs around the world is very inconsistent. There are many differing opinions and approaches with very little research to support practice. Providing a thermal environment that maintains a core body temperature within a normal range is essential to the survival of a neonate. Thermoregulation is imperative also for optimal physiologic functioning.
Design/Background/Rationale:
This will be a quantitative experimental study with a randomization of subjects. Random assignment will be accomplished through a computerized table of random numbers. The control group will be assigned to air temperature control and the experimental group to servo skin control. The independent variables will be the servo skin control and the air temperature control in the incubator. The dependent variables will be the infants' axillary temperature and the infants' weight. All infants will have their axillary temperature maintained between 36.5 and 37[degrees]C. Participation in the study will end when the infant has been placed into an open crib. There will be no change in the quality of care. Consent will be obtained before inclusion.
Methods/Description:
* Hypothesis: servo control thermoregulation will be associated with greater weight gain and temperature stability.
* Research questions: (1) in premature neonates, what is the effect of air control temperature on weight gain compared with servo-control? (2) In premature neonates, what is the effect of air-control temperature on thermoregulation compared with servo-control?
* Population sample: utilizing sample size calculator software, 250 neonates from 29 to 34 weeks' gestation will be randomly assigned into air temperature control or servo skin control. Infants must be stable.
Findings/Outcomes:
T test analysis (SPSS software) will be used. To date, 20 participants have been enrolled in our study.
Conclusions:
We were unable to make a make a statement at this time and continue to collect data.
Implications for Practice:
Nothing to report at this time.
Section Description
The 2009 NACNS National Conference will be held in St Louis, Missouri, on March 5 to 7. More than 350 clinical nurse specialists (CNSs), graduate faculty, nurse administrators, nurse researchers, and graduate students are registered. This year's theme, "Clinical Nurse Specialists: Vision, Value, Voice," demonstrates the essential leadership skills of the CNS as well as the CNS role in implementing evidence-based practice.
Seventy abstracts were selected for either podium or poster presentations. Again, this year, there is a CNS student poster session. The abstracts addressed CNS practice in 3 practice domains (spheres of influence), emphasizing patient safety and quality care outcomes, leadership, evidence-based practice, and new ways to shape CNS practice. Topics include CNS work activities incorporated into 3 spheres of influence-patients, nursing practice, organization/system-including the development of clinical inquiry skills among staff nurses, use of simulation technology, strategies to maintain clinical excellence, CNS practice in end-of-life care decisions, and many new and thoughtful ideas to support CNS education, practice, and research. Collectively, the abstracts represent the breadth, depth, and richness of the CNSs' contribution to the well-being of individuals, families, communities, as well as to the advancement of the nursing profession.
The conference abstracts were published here to facilitate sharing this emerging new knowledge with those who were unable to attend the conference. As you read each abstract, appreciate the intellectual talent and clinical scholarship of your CNS colleagues who are advancing the practice of nursing and contributing to the health of society through improved outcomes for patients and healthcare organizations. We encourage you to contact individual presenters to network, collaborate, consult, or share your thoughts and ideas on the conference topics. Watch out for next year's call for abstracts and consider submitting for presentation at NACNS' next annual conference in Portland, Oregon, on March 4 to 6, 2010.