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Published on: October 24, 2019
Visual stimulation in the neonatal intensive care unit: A systematic literature review
Cristiane Aparecida Moran1, Victor Seabra Lima Prado Costa1, Letícia Oliveira Marx1
1Department of Health Sciences, Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Araranguá, Brazil.
Insights
Early visual stimulation for preterm infants (PTIs) in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) shows promising benefits for visual function and development. More research is needed to fully understand its impact on visual outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal care
- Developmental pediatrics
- Ophthalmology
Background:
- Preterm infants (PTIs) in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) often face visual development challenges.
- Early sensory interventions are increasingly explored to support PTIs' development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review and categorize evidence on early visual stimulation interventions for PTIs in the NICU.
- To assess the impact of these interventions on visual function and other developmental parameters.
Main Methods:
- A systematic review adhering to PRISMA guidelines, registered in PROSPERO.
- Searched four databases (last search March 15, 2023) for studies in English, Portuguese, Spanish, or Italian.
- Included eight studies, with 62.5% assessed as low risk of bias; data extraction and bias assessment performed by two independent authors.
Main Results:
- All included studies utilized multisensory interventions incorporating visual stimulation.
- Fifty percent of interventions involved brief (3-minute) black and white card stimulation inside incubators.
- Positive effects were observed in visual function parameters, breastfeeding, and neuromuscular development.
Conclusions:
- Existing literature on early visual stimulation for PTIs suggests promising outcomes for visual function and broader development.
- There is a need for more research focusing specifically on purely visual functional outcomes.
- Parental involvement in interventions yields significant benefits for mother-infant dyads and is gaining acceptance.
Abstract:
We aimed to systematically categorize evidence on the types of early visual stimulation applied to preterm infants (PTIs) admitted to neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), aiming to improve visual function parameters. This study was conducted according to PRISMA and registered in PROSPERO with CRD42022333753. Last search was conducted on March 15, 2023, in four different databases. Articles written in English, Portuguese, Spanish, or Italian, and available in full text were included. Two independent authors performed study selection, data extraction, and bias risk assessment. If there was any disagreement, a third author was contacted. A total of eight studies were included. From these, 62.5% presented a low risk of bias. 100% used a multisensory intervention, which included visual stimulation. In 50%, visual intervention consisted of black and white stimulation cards placed inside the incubator for three minutes. The outcomes showed positive benefits in visual function parameters and other reported clinical benefits in breastfeeding and neuromuscular development. This review demonstrated there is still scarce literature on the effects of early visual stimulation on purely visual functional outcomes, although the existing findings are promising. Parental involvement has been generating unquestionable benefits for the binomial mother-infant and gaining greater acceptance by health professionals.
