Prematurity is the main cause for respiratory disorders in neonates. The goal in respiratory management is to maintain respiration with adequate oxygenation. Chest vibration(CV) prior to endotracheal suctioning(ETS) has been arbitrarily applied to ventilated premature infants without the scientific evaluation of its safety and efficacy.
A repeated measure within subjects experimental study was conducted to investigate the effects of CV prior to ETS on oxygenation and lung secretions in twenty-one ventilated premature infants. The independent variable was the type of research protocol, the control type(ETS without CV) and the intervention(ETS with CV). The dependent variables were oxygen saturation(SpO2), heart rate (HR), measured by pulse oximeter, and the amount of lung secretions measured in gram, the results showed there was no difference in SpO2 responses regardless CV employed before ETS. But there was a significant difference in HR responses between the control and the intervention, even without clinical significance.
There was a significant difference in the amount of lung secretions retrieved during ETS with CV, compared to ETS without CV. This study suggested the safety of CV by demonstrating no clinically significant changes in SoO2 and HR in premature infants. The efficacy of CV could be supported by the increases in the amount of sputum during ETS with CV compared to ETS without CV in premature infants.
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