Welcome to the 9th EAPS Congress Programme Scheduling

Abstract Body

This session aims to discuss the role of nurses in delivering nurse-led interventions to reduce pain in critically ill infants in the NICU. The interactive session will engage delegates to determine the current practice of painful procedures. The delegates will be challenged to think out of the box. As an example; not delivering family-centred care to the full extend is potentially an emotional painful procedure for parents.

At the end of the session the delegates have discovered a range of activities and interventions that are important to ease pain in infants and families in NICU.

Take home message is: Think outside the box and involve all stakeholders to provide comfort care to critically ill infants.

References:

Ryan L, Plötz FB, van den Hoogen A, Latour JM, et al: Neonates and COVID-19: state of the art. Pediatric Research. 2022;91(2):432-439.

Latour JM; Kentish-Barnes N, Jacques T, Wysocki M; Azoulay E; Metaxa V: Improving the Intensive Care experience from the perspectives of different stakeholders. Critical Care. 2022;26:218.

Poh PF, Sng QW, Latour JM, et al: Pediatric Critical Care Nursing Research Priorities in Asia: An eDelphi Study. Pediatr Crit Care Med. Online ahead of print 15 July 2022.

Tume, L, van den Hoogen A, Wielenga JM, Latour JM: An electronic Delphi study to establish pediatric intensive care nursing research priorities in 20 European countries. Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2014;15(5):e206-e213.

Background and Aims

Clarifying the signs and symptoms that trigger nurses’ concern about paediatric patients’ conditions could help them take actions based on their intuitive feelings in the early stages of deterioration. This scoping review aimed to identify and map the signs and symptoms—apart from vital signs—that trigger nurses’ concerns about the deteriorating conditions of hospitalized pediatric patients.

Methods

A scoping review was conducted in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology. Six databases, including MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, Scopus, Swemed, and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses databases, were searched systematically. Of 5,795 citations, seven matched the inclusion criteria.

Results

Objective observations, such as the patient’s color, pain level changes, and behavioral observations, were identified as signs that would trigger nurses’ concerns. Nurse’s intuitive feelings or gut feelings when seeing a patient was also identified as an important factor for identifying a deteriorating pediatric patient. A “gut feeling” was described as both a reaction to patient signs and a feeling based on the nurse’s intuition gained through experience. The signs or symptoms that would trigger this “gut feeling” were not identified.

Conclusions

The evidence on identifying signs and symptoms that trigger nurses’ concerns about the deteriorating conditions of hospitalised paediatric patients is sparse. Thus, further research is needed to elaborate on this important element of paediatric nursing.

Background and Aims

Background: Early parental interventions in the Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) have beneficial effects on preterm infants’ short and long-term outcomes. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Early Vocal Contact (EVC)—singing and speaking—on preterm infants’
vagal activity and autonomic nervous system (ANS) maturation.

Methods

In this multi-center randomized clinical trial, 34 stable preterm infants, born at 25–32 weeks gestational age, were randomized to either the EVC group or control group, where mothers did not interact with the babies but observed their behavior. Heart Rate Variability (HRV) was acquired before intervention (pre-condition), during vocal contact, and after it (post condition).

Results

No significant effect of the vocal contact, singing and speaking, was found in HRV when the intervention group was compared
to the control group. However, a significant difference between the singing and the pre and post conditions, respectively, preceding and following the singing intervention, was found in the Low and High Frequency power nu, and in the low/high frequency features (p = 0.037). By contrast,
no significant effect of the speaking was found.

Conclusions

Maternal singing, but not speaking, enhances preterm infants’ vagal activity in the short-term, thus improving the ANS stability. Future
analyses will investigate the effect of enhanced vagal activity on short and long-term developmental outcomes of preterm infants in the NICU.