Occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech-language pathology in the neonatal intensive care unit: Patterns of therapy usage in a level IV NICU.
Katherine Ross, Elizabeth Heiny, Sandra Conner and 2 others
PMID 28384484WHAT IT FOUND
More therapy was not associated with better neurobehavior, though earlier SLP initiation was related to better self-regulation. 100% of infants received OT and PT, and 51% had an SLP evaluation.
Key findings
0179 infants received OT and PT, and 41 (51%) had an SLP evaluation.
02OTs, PTs, and SLPs documented some interventions that were unique to their discipline.
03Total therapy sessions were not related to neurobehavior, though earlier SLP initiation was related to better self-regulation.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The paper enrolled 88 infants at the study site, but the reported cohort was 79 infants after 4 expired, 3 withdrew, and 2 transferred. It was conducted at a single level IV NICU, so the patterns may not apply to other NICUs or populations. 100% of infants received OT and PT, making it difficult to untangle therapy usage and outcomes. Therapy data came from electronic documentation with prewritten options and therapist-written interventions, so some interventions may have been missed. Associations between therapy and neurobehavior were hard to untangle because medical stability, discharge timing, and impairment could influence both therapy use and outcomes.
Declared interests
The authors reported no financial relationships and no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that giving more NICU therapy improves neurobehavior. Total therapy sessions were not related to neurobehavior, and the earlier SLP finding was only a relationship seen in this cohort.