The effects of position on gastric residual volume of premature infants in NICU

Abstract Background Nutrition cares are of the main measures to save premature infants. In this regard, proper positioning is one of the key measures that is done by nurses; still there is a paucity of studies in this field and the results of these few studies are an area of ongoing debates. In light of this, the present paper is an attempt to determine the effects of different positioning on gastric residual volume in premature infants in NICU. Methods A clinical trial cross-over study was carried out on premature infants in NICU. The subjects, who had inclusion criteria, were selected through convenience sampling based on inclusion criteria and randomly allocated into three groups. Gastric residual volume before and one hours after feeding was measured and recorded for three positions including right-lateral, left-lateral, and prone. The data was analyzed via SPSS-21 using descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation, and frequency; and inferential statistics such as Chi Squared, Kruskal Wallis test, and Friedman test. Results Totally, 135 infants in three groups were studied and the results showed that minimum and maximum gastric residual volumes were in prone (6.49 ± 8.25 ML) and supine (12.59 ± 11.9 ML) positions, respectively. However, Kruskal Wallis test did not show a significant relationship between the three positions under study and the mean gastric residual volume. Conclusion Prone position was featured with the lowest gastric residual volume and highest possibility of absorbing nutrient. Still, given the fact that no significant difference was found in the three groups, further and deeper studies are needed. Trial registration The project is approved by Iranian Registry of Clinical Trial with no. IRCT. 201404134736 N6