Abstract
Background Although not universal,active care is being offered to infants weighing＜500 g at birth,referred to as ultra-low birth weight(ULBW)infants appropriate for gestational age.These infants have the greatest risk of dying or developing major morbidities.ULBW infants face challenges related to fluid and heat loss as well as skin injury in the initial days of life from extreme anatomical and physiological immaturity of the skin.Although there is an emerging literature on the outcomes of ULBW infants,there is a paucity of evidence to inform practice guidelines for delivering optimal care to this cohort of infants.Data sources A comprehensive review of the literature was performed using the PubMed and Embase databases.Searched keywords included"thermoregulation or body temperature regulation","incubator humidity","skin care","infant,extremely low birth weight"and"ultra-low birth weight infants".Results Evidences for thermoregulation,incubator humidity,and skincare practices are available for preterm infants weigh-ing＜1500 g at birth but not specifically for ULBW infants.Studies on thermoregulation,incubator humidity,or skincare practices had a small sample size and did not include a sub-group analysis for ULBW infants.Current practice recommenda-tions in ULBW infants are adopted from research in very and/or extremely low birth weight infants.Conclusions This narrative review focuses on challenges in thermoregulation,incubator humidity,and skincare practices in ULBW infants,highlights current research gaps and suggests potential developments for informing practices for improving health outcomes in ULBW infants.
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Open Access funding enabled and organized by CAUL and its Member Institutions()
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