Effect of multisensory stimulation on oxygen saturation in premature infants during eye examination

Eye examination for screening of Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP)، as a painful procedure، causes physiological changes in premature infants. Multisensory stimulation is a non-pharmacological analgesic method which affects physiological measures during painful procedures.

To determine the effect of multisensory stimulation on oxygen saturation in premature infants during eye examinations

In this single-blind randomized clinical trial، 80 premature infants in Khatamolanbya hospital of Mashhad in 2014 were randomly divided into two groups of “control” and “multisensory stimulation”. In the intervention group، multisensory stimulation was administered 15 minutes before the start of the examination and the control group received standard care. Arterial oxygen saturation of each infant was recorded at 30-second intervals before، during، and after eye examination in a researcher-built checklist and a physiological characteristics form. Data were analyzed by independent t-test، Mann-Whitney، and repeated measures ANOVA using SPSS version 11. 5.

The mean gestational age of multisensory stimulation group was 30. 4±7. 1 and the control group was 30. 6 ± 8. 1 weeks. Based on the analysis of variance with repeated measures، arterial blood oxygen saturation was significantly different in both groups during the evaluation (p<0. 001); which was 92. 6±3. 5 in the intervention group and 90. 1±2. 0 in the control group during eyes examinations. Changes in oxygen saturation during the examination was significant in the two groups (p<0. 001).

Multisensory stimulation program causes smaller reduction in oxygen saturation. Multisensory stimulation can be used as a way to reduce physiological changes during eye examination.