Non-Pharmacological Interventions for NICU Preterm Infants' Sleep Promotion: A Meta-Analysis

Objective To assess the effects of non-pharmacological interventions for preterm infants' sleep. Methods The databases of CENTRAL, EMBASE, MEDLINE, CBM, Wanfang, CNKI and VIP were searched for randomized controlled trials(RCTs) which examined the effects of non-pharmacological interventions on preterm infants'sleep. Two reviewers independently screened literatures, extracted data, and assessed the quality of included studies. Meta analysis was performed by RevMan5.3 software. Results Forty RCTs were included in this review and interventions were varied. Results of meta-analysis showed that: ①NIDCAP had no significant effect on total sleep efficiency in preterm infants (MD=6.90,95%CI -4.83~18.62,P=0.25);②Music increased the sleep time of preterm infants (MD=1.95, 95%CI 1.79~2.11,P<0.000 01);③Mattress interventions had significant effect on total sleep efficiency and activesleepefficiency(AS%)(MD=14.01,95%CI 8.05~19.98,P<0.000 01;MD=9.51,95%CI 2.75~16.27,P=0.006); ④Cycled light had increased total sleep time(MD=1.19,95%CI 0.16~2.22,P=0.02). Conclusion Music, mattress and cycle light interventions may have beneficial effects on the sleep in preterm infants, but few articles were included in meta-analysis. So further high-quality researches are needed to strengthen the evidence base.