The Effectiveness of an Oral Sensorimotor Stimulation Protocol for the Early Achievement of Exclusive Oral Feeding in Premature Infants. A Randomized, Controlled Trial

Aims: This study is aimed to investigate the effectiveness of an oral stimulation protocol in preterm infants compared to usual care, to reduce the time for achieving safe full oral feeding.Methods: 47 preterm infants (25- 30 weeks of gestational age) were randomized into two groups. Babies of the EG (n = 24) received a 10-minute oral stimulation protocol while the CG (n = 23) received the standard care. The primary outcome were the days from the initiation of the intervention until the achievement of full oral feeding. Secondary outcomes were: days from the first day the intervention started until achieving a first oral intake of 30% in the first 5 minutes, days from the first day the intervention started until achieving a first oral intake of 100%, and days of hospitalization. A parametric survival model with Gaussian distribution was used.Results: The EG achieved full oral feeding 8.3 days before the CG (p = 0.013). EG also achieved the first oral intake of 30% in the first five minutes, 6.03 days before (p = 0.019) and of 100%, 5.88 days before (p = 0.040). EG also spent 6.9 days less hospitalized than CG (p = 0.028).Conclusion: Oral stimulation in preterm infants significantly shortens the time to achieve full oral feeding and reduces the length of hospitalization.