The Effectiveness of an Oral Sensorimotor Stimulation Protocol for the Early Achievement of Exclusive Oral Feeding in Premature Infants. A Randomized, Controlled Trial

Aims: This study is aimed to investigate the effectiveness of an oral stimulation protocol in preterm infants compared to usual care, to reduce the time for achieving safe full oral feeding. Methods: 47 preterm infants (25- 30 weeks of gestational age) were randomized into two groups. Babies of the EG (n ¼ 24) received a 10-minute oral stimulation protocol while the CG (n ¼ 23) received the standard care. The primary outcome were the days from the initiation of the intervention until the achievement of full oral feeding. Secondary outcomes were: days from the first day the intervention started until achieving a first oral intake of 30% in the first 5 minutes, days from the first day the intervention started until achieving a first oral intake of 100%, and days of hospitalization. A parametric survival model with Gaussian distribution was used. Results: The EG achieved full oral feeding 8.3 days before the CG (p ¼ 0.013). EG also achieved the first oral intake of 30% in the first five minutes, 6.03 days before (p ¼ 0.019) and of 100%, 5.88 days before (p ¼ 0.040). EG also spent 6.9 days less hospitalized than CG (p ¼ 0.028). Conclusion: Oral stimulation in preterm infants significantly shortens the time to achieve full oral feeding and reduces the length of hospitalization.