Effects of massage on newborn infants with jaundice: A meta-analysis.
Mengjie Lei, Tingting Liu, Yufeng Li and 3 others
PMID 31406807WHAT IT FOUND
Massage added to routine care lowered newborn bilirubin levels from day two onward, but not on day one.
Stool frequency rose only on day two. The evidence is short-term and uncertain.
Key findings
01Serum total bilirubin was lower in the massage groups than in the control groups.
02Percutaneous bilirubin was lower with massage on days 2, 3, 4 and 7, but not on day 1.
03Defecation frequency was higher with massage on day 2, but not on days 1, 3 or 4 after removing the largest weight study.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The included trials were small for some outcomes, and only 14 trials were included overall. Many trials did not describe the random method or allocation concealment, and blinding was rarely reported. The authors could not assess publication bias because each outcome had too few studies. Results showed large heterogeneity, and some outcomes were only described rather than pooled. The studies did not distinguish physiological from pathological jaundice. Massage dose and timing varied across trials. The evidence was mainly short-term, with little follow-up. Defecation results changed when the largest weight study was removed.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that massage alone can treat neonatal jaundice. In every included trial, massage was added to routine comprehensive treatment, and the bilirubin difference on day 1 was not significant. The trials also did not separate physiological from pathological jaundice, so the result should not be applied to sick newborns or as a replacement for phototherapy and monitoring.