Effect of the Artificial Night with Facilitated Tucking and Artificial Night Alone on the Physiological Indices of Premature Infants

Background: Preterm birth and admission to neonatal intensive care unit as stressors can cause physiological instability that may lead to prolong hospitalization and mortality. This study aimed to determine the effect of artificial nights and facilitated tucking on the physiological indices of premature infants. Methods: This randomized clinical trial was conducted on 60 preterm infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit at Shohadaye Kargar Hospital in Yazd, Iran, during 2017-18. The infants were selected through a convenient sampling method, and were randomly assigned into three groups of arti icial nights with facilitated tucking (group 1) (n=20), arti icial nights (group 2) (n=20) and control group (group 3) (n=20). Subsequently, the physiological indices (i.e., heart rate, respiration rate, arterial oxygen saturation) were measured twice a day at 7:00 a.m. and 19:00 p.m. for 3 days. The data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 20). A p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: There was a significant difference among the three groups in terms of mean values of heart, respiratory, and arterial oxygen saturation rates (P 0.05). The irst experimental group obtained a greater reduction in heart rate and respiratory rate on the third day (at 19:00 p.m.), as well as a greater increase in arterial oxygen saturation rate on the second (at 19:00 p.m.) and third days (at 7:00 a.m. and 19:00 p.m.), compared to the other two groups (P 0.05). Additionally, the mean value of heart and respiratory rates were lower and arterial oxygen saturation rates were higher in the intervention group 1, compared to the other groups. Conclusion: According to the results of the study, the simulation of the mother’s womb environment through creating artificial night and maintaining facilitated tucking resulted in the improvement of physiological indices of the premature infants. Furthermore, artificial night together with facilitated tucking leads to better results, compared to artificial night alone.