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Hand splinting for infants in the intensive care and special care nurseries
1Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Sinai Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland.
Insights
Infants in intensive care nurseries often develop hand deformities. Splinting offers an adjunctive therapy to prevent progressive hand dysfunction in preterm and neonatal infants.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal care
- Pediatric orthopedics
- Rehabilitation medicine
Background:
- Infants in intensive care nurseries frequently experience hand deformities and dysfunction.
- Traditional hand care methods may be insufficient for preventing progressive deformities in preterm and neonatal infants.
Observation:
- Medical instability, time limitations, and family involvement challenges can necessitate specialized interventions.
- Fear of iatrogenic harm is a consideration in treatment planning for neonates.
- Splinting is identified as a valuable adjunctive therapeutic intervention for infant hand care.
Findings:
- Key factors for infant splint fabrication include precise alignment, adequate padding, secure strap attachment, and appropriate thermoplastic malleability.
- These factors are crucial for effective and safe splinting in the neonatal population.
Implications:
- Optimized splinting techniques can improve outcomes for infants with hand deformities in intensive care settings.
- This approach may help mitigate long-term functional limitations and enhance quality of life for affected infants.
Abstract:
Infants in intensive care nurseries often have hand deformities and hand dysfunction. The traditional therapeutic approaches to hand care used in the treatment of adults, young children, and older infants are not always adequate to prevent progressive deformity in preterm and neonatal infants. Medical instability, time constraints, lack of family participation in the therapeutic program, the complexity of the treatment program, and fear of harming the infant are considerations that may indicate the need for splinting as an adjunctive therapeutic intervention. A number of factors are particularly important in making splints for infants, including splint alignment and padding, strap attachment, and thermoplastic malleability.