Effectiveness of passive ankle pump exercise on lower limb swelling in neonates with a peripherally inserted central catheter: a quasi-experimental study.
Xiaoman Yu, Linlin Chen, Qian Wu and 2 others
PMID 40233203WHAT IT FOUND
In neonates with lower limb PICCs, adding nurse-led passive ankle pump exercise to limb elevation and warm compresses reduced leg swelling and shortened time to resolution from 80 hours to 56 hours.
Key findings
01The intervention group received passive ankle pump exercise three times daily for 10 minutes in addition to limb elevation 20-30° and warm compresses.
02That group had a lower peak leg circumference increase, 4.68% at 72 hours, compared with 6.61% at 40 hours in the control group.
03Swelling resolved in a median of 56 hours in the intervention group and 80 hours in the control group.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The infants were selected by convenience sampling, and the paper does not describe random allocation or blinding. The paper does not state which outcome was primary. Both groups received limb elevation and warm compresses, so the study does not show what passive ankle pump exercise does on its own. The study was done at the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, where only 1.9Fr neonatal PICCs are available, so results may not apply to other catheter sizes or settings. Follow-up lasted 7 days, and by 144 hours the leg circumference increase was similar in both groups. The paper reports only one control neonate removed for thrombosis, not a full account of dropouts or transfers.
The easy way to misread this
Do not use this to justify passive ankle pump exercise alone for any swollen neonatal limb. Ultrasound first ruled out thrombosis, and both groups also received limb elevation and warm compresses.