PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Laila Lorenz AU - Jennifer A Dawson AU - Hannah Jones AU - Susan E Jacobs AU - Jeanie L Cheong AU - Susan M Donath AU - Peter G Davis AU - C Omar F Kamlin TI - Skin-to-skin care in preterm infants receiving respiratory support does not lead to physiological instability AID - 10.1136/archdischild-2016-311752 DP - 2017 Jul 01 TA - Archives of Disease in Childhood - Fetal and Neonatal Edition PG - F339--F344 VI - 102 IP - 4 4099 - http://fn.bmj.com/content/102/4/F339.short 4100 - http://fn.bmj.com/content/102/4/F339.full SO - Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed2017 Jul 01; 102 AB - Objective Providing skin-to-skin care (SSC) to preterm infants is standard practice in many neonatal intensive care units. There are conflicting reports on the stability of oxygen saturation (SpO2) during SSC, which may create a barrier to a wider implementation of SSC to infants receiving respiratory support. Regional cerebral oxygenation (rcO2) measured using near-infrared spectroscopy can serve as a surrogate parameter for cerebral oxygen delivery and consumption. We hypothesised that rcO2 during SSC would be similar to standard care in preterm infants receiving respiratory support.Design Prospective observational non-inferiority study.Setting Single tertiary perinatal centre in Australia.Patients Forty preterm infants (median (IQR) of 27.6 (26.0–28.9) weeks' gestation) receiving respiratory support were studied on day 8 (5–18).Interventions Ninety minutes of SSC, with infants in incubators acting as their own control. Parents and caregivers were blinded to the measurements.Main outcome measures Mean difference in rcO2 between SSC and incubator care; as well as heart rate (HR), SpO2, fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2) and temperature, were compared using a paired t-test.Results rcO2 was similar during SSC (mean (SD) 74.9 (6.5)%)% compared with incubator care (74.7 (6.1)%, mean difference (95% CI) 0.2 (−0.8 to 1.1)%, p=0.71). No clinically important differences in HR, SpO2, FiO2 or temperature were observed in the whole cohort and by mode of respiratory support (endotracheal tube mechanical ventilation, continuous positive airway pressure and high-flow nasal cannulae).Conclusions Cerebral oxygenation and other physiological measurements in ventilated preterm infants did not differ between SSC and incubator care.Trial registration number 12615000959572.