Cervical accelerometry in preterm infants with and without bronchopulmonary dysplasia

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Neonatology
• Pediatric Gastroenterology

Background:

• Cervical accelerometry and digital signal processing (DSP) detect infant swallowing signals (initial discrete sounds, IDSs).
• IDS uniformity increases with postmenstrual age (PMA) in healthy preterm infants.

Purpose of the Study:

• To enhance the accuracy of the variance index (VI) method for analyzing swallowing signals using higher sampling rates (22 kHz) and improved DSP software.
• To assess developmental differences in IDS morphology between preterm infants with and without bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD).

Main Methods:

• Employed cervical accelerometry with DSP at 22 kHz and a modified VI method.
• Analyzed 24 feeding studies from infants aged 32-39 weeks PMA, including healthy preterm infants (n=10) and infants with BPD (n=7).

Main Results:

• A significant inverse correlation between VI and PMA was observed in healthy preterm infants (r = 0.66, p = 0.02).
• No significant correlation between VI and PMA was found in the BPD cohort.
• Infants with BPD showed significantly different VI compared to healthy infants (p < 0.007).
• The modified VI technique identified expected IDS signals in 100% of swallows.

Conclusions:

• The enhanced cervical accelerometry method accurately detects swallowing signals.
• Developmental changes in swallowing signal morphology differ between healthy preterm infants and those with BPD.
• This technique offers a promising tool for assessing swallowing function in vulnerable infant populations.