Abstract
Infants who received dysphagia therapy have higher medical complexities than those who did not receive therapy. Findings could lead to earlier identification of populations that are at higher risk for oral feeding delays to optimize therapy services.
Primary Author and Speaker: Tiana Nguyen
Contributing Authors: Audrey Kane, Stacey Reynolds, Roberta Pineda, Elizabeth E. Rogers
Medical advances have significantly increased the survival rates for preterm infants. However, infants born at lower gestational ages (GA) have an increased risk for developmental delays and oral feeding difficulties. Infants can receive dysphagia therapy that focuses on the development of oral feeding skills during their stay in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). However, there is limited literature to this date discussing the use of dysphagia therapy in the NICU. The purpose of this study was to describe the scope of dysphagia therapy for preterm infants in a Level IV NICU. This study used a correlational, retrospective study design to analyze data extracted from the electronic medical record for infants who were born at less than 37 weeks of gestation and with a history of admission to UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital (BCH) NICU between January 2017 and December 2019. Infants who were transferred to and from outside hospitals and died were excluded. Twenty-seven percent of preterm infants received a dysphagia therapy referral with a median of three therapy sessions ranging from zero to 25. Infants who received dysphagia therapy referral, when compared to those who did not receive dysphagia therapy referral, were born at lower GA (32 versus 34, p<.001), had lower birthweight (1854 versus 2232, p<.001), were more medically complex (14% versus 5%, p<.001), had a history of mechanical ventilation (22% versus 3%, p<.001), had respiratory conditions (19% versus 7%, p<.001), and had longer lengths of stay (38 versus 15, p<.001). Findings from this study contribute to understanding the provision of dysphagia therapy in the NICU which could lead to earlier identification of populations that are at higher risk for delayed oral feeding development. More efficient referral pathways for these infants would help to optimize services to improve feeding outcomes for preterm infants.
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