Effects of heated gel mattress for prevention of hypothermia in preterm infants during intra-hospital transport: a Meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of heated gel mattress(HGM) for prevention of heat loss on preterm infants with hypothermia during the transport systematically and objectively. Methods Systematic searches on PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science CBM,CNKI,Wanfang and VIP were performed for randomized controlled trials or quasi-randomized control trials which explored the effects of HGM on prevention of hypothermia in premature infants relative to conventional alternatives. Studies were screened according to inclusion and exclusion criteria,extracting data and assessing quality. Then, Meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis were performed by using RevMan 5.3 and TSA v0.9 software developed at the Copenhagen Clinical Trials Center in Denmark, independently. Results This systematic review included 10 studies which comprised 7 randomized controlled trials and 3 quasi-randomized control trials, encompassing 773 patients. The results of Meta-analysis showed that in HGM group admission temperature on neonatal intensive care unit (standardized mean difference was 0.63, 95% confidence interval was 0.40-0.87, P=0.00), incidence of hypothermia (relative risk was 0.73, 95% confidence interval was 0.57-0.93, P=0.01) and hyperthermia (relative risk was 1.82, 95% confidence interval was 1.31-2.54, P=0.00) compared with the control group had significantly statistical difference; however, there was no significant difference in admission temperature on EM or TWM group, mortality, sepsis, retinopathy of prematurity, intraventricular hemorrhage III/IV between two groups. TSA confirmed that the pooled results of admission temperature on NICU and hyperthermia were stable and reliable; but the combination of low-temperature incidence and mortality indicators suggested that the sample size was insufficient. Conclusions HGM is an effective rewarming intervention that can improve body temperature of hypothermic preterm infants during transport, reduce the incidence of hypothermia but not decrease the incidence of morbidity and complications. However, it is recommended that clinical monitoring of body temperature should be performed dynamically to decrease the potential risk of high fever and complications. In addition, due to the limitation of quantity and quality of included studies, its cost-effectiveness and far-reaching influence on long-term follow-up outcomes need further evaluation through clinical multicenter, large sample, high-quality research. Key words: Premature infants; Hypothermia; Intra-hospital transport; Temperature management; Meta-analysis; Trial sequential analysis