Am J Perinatol. 2025 Mar 20. doi: 10.1055/a-2562-1538. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Assess healthcare professionals’ perspectives on how implemented measures impact patient comfort during targeted neonatal echocardiography (TNE).
STUDY DESIGN: Survey distributed to neonatal healthcare professionals at the Montreal Children’s Hospital NICU. Responses were collected for four weeks, anonymized and analyzed using descriptive statistics.
RESULTS: Of 110 respondents, most believed that scans in general disturbed infants (71%) by increasing the risk of hypothermia (75%) and lability (67%). Key comfort measures identified were warm gel (85%), bundling (80%), and a focused exam (<30 minutes) (80%). Neoclassical music recordings were valued for their calming effect on the infant (73%), parent (44%), and sonographer (39%). Respondents preferred recorded music over other forms of music delivery (53%).
CONCLUSION: Healthcare workers generally agree that scans disturb newborns and that implementing comfort measures, such as music and the cost-efficient bundle used in our NICU, may enhance patient comfort. Further objective studies are needed to validate these findings and assess their impact on neonatal care outcomes Keywords: music, targeted neonatal echocardiography, ultrasound, comfort, neonatology.
PMID:40112873 | DOI:10.1055/a-2562-1538
