Outcome of abdominal massage before gavage feeding on tolerated feeding for low birth weight infants.
Abdelaziz Hendy, Nahed Saied El-Nagger, Ahmed Abozeid and 4 others
PMID 34850605WHAT IT FOUND
Low birth weight infants given abdominal massage before gavage feeding had lower gastric residual volume, less vomiting and distention, and were sleepier after feeds than controls.
Allocation and sample reporting were unclear.
Key findings
0155% of infants in the massage group were sleepy and 35% calm after feeding, compared with 15% sleepy and 40% crying in controls.
02The massage group had mean gastric residual volume 0.8 ml versus 3.86 ml in controls, vomiting 0.30 versus 0.81 times per day, and distention 0.25 versus 0.72 times per day.
03Within the massage group, gastric residual volume fell from 2.49 ml to 0.8 ml, vomiting from 0.77 to 0.30 times per day, and distention from 0.79 to 0.25 times per day.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The paper says infants were randomly assigned, but describes the first 60 infants going to control and the next 60 to the study group, so allocation may not have been random or concealed. The number analysed is unclear. Methods and Table 1 describe 60 infants in each group, but Tables 2 and 3 report 20 infants in each group. Outcome measurement was done by researchers, and the paper does not report blinding of parents, caregivers or assessors. The study was done in a single neonatal intensive care unit, so it may not fit other units or infant groups. The paper reports several significant outcomes but does not clearly name a single primary outcome.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that abdominal massage has been proven to improve feeding tolerance in all low birth weight infants. The paper describes sequential group assignment and reports inconsistent group sizes, so the evidence is not strong enough to change standard care without local review.