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Published on: January 7, 2020
Effectiveness of developmental intervention in the neonatal intensive care unit: implications for neonatal physical
Marla C Mahoney1, Meryl I Cohen
1Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami, FL, USA. mcohen@miami.edu
Insights
Physical therapists use sensory techniques as part of developmental intervention for preterm infants in the NICU. While effective, more research is needed to confirm benefits due to the interdisciplinary nature of care.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal care
- Pediatric physical therapy
- Developmental intervention
Background:
- Interdisciplinary teams promote infant stability.
- Physical therapists focus on sensorimotor development for preterm infants.
- Neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) provide specialized care for premature infants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review evidence on physical therapist practices in the NICU.
- To examine the role of developmental intervention (DI) for premature infants.
- To present evidence on physical therapy techniques used in the NICU.
Main Methods:
- A literature review was conducted.
- 26 articles on developmental intervention techniques were identified.
- Articles were critiqued based on study design, with 12 rated highly.
Main Results:
- Sensory techniques used by physical therapists appear effective for DI.
- Evidence suggests physical therapy is a valuable component of developmental intervention.
- A lack of large, well-controlled studies was noted.
Conclusions:
- Neonatal physical therapy is a component of developmental intervention.
- There is agreement on the benefits of DI.
- The interdisciplinary nature of NICU care limits the ability to isolate the effectiveness of individual healthcare professionals.
Purpose:
Interdisciplinary team members interact with infants to facilitate progressive physiologic stability. The focus of the physical therapist's role is promotion of sensorimotor development in infants born preterm. The aim of this review was to examine evidence for physical therapist practice in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) as it relates to developmental intervention (DI) for infants born prematurely and to present the evidence of physical therapy techniques used in the NICU.
Summary Of Key Points:
A literature review was performed resulting in identification of 26 articles that examined specific developmental intervention techniques. The articles were critiqued based on their design. Twelve articles were rated highly, indicating that sensory techniques implemented by physical therapists appear to be an appropriate and effective component of DI. The general consensus was that there is a lack of large, well-controlled, randomized studies in this area of pediatric outcome research.
Conclusions:
Neonatal physical therapy falls under the umbrella of DI. There is substantial agreement about the benefits of DI, but the multimodal and interdisciplinary nature of the evidence limits the ability to identify the effectiveness of any one healthcare professional in the provision of DI in the NICU.
