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"Limited evidence exists on the effects of different protocols on extravasation management in neonates in the NICU" Sagheb et al (2022).
Neonatal extravasation injury management

Abstract:

Background: To identify a standard protocol for managing extravasation injuries in neonates.

Methods: We recruited all the neonates with extravasation wounds from the neonatal intensive care unit of Shariati hospital, Tehran, Iran, between October 2018 and October 2020. Sixteen patients with grade 3-4 extravasation were evaluated in this retrospective study. All grade 3 and 4 extravasation wounds were injected with hyaluronidase at 5 points of the wound circle; the procedure was repeated every 5 min at different points in a smaller circle to the core. The wound was then covered with a warm compress for 24 h. Twenty-four hours after injection, the cover was changed twice a day with normal saline irrigation. Fibrinolysin ointment was applied on top of the wound. The ulcer was then dressed with phenytoin ointment until healing.

Results: Out of 16 neonates who were followed up, 10 of them were male, with the average birth weight being 1.37 (range 1.05-3.75) kg. The mean (± SD) wound healing duration was 13.12 (± 6) (range: 7-29) days. Factors including the cannulation duration before the appearance of the lesion (R:0.2, P = 0.2), birth weight (R = -.37, P = 015), and extravasated substances (p = 0.2) were not associated with the duration of hospital stay. The only exception to this trend is the wound size factor of 7.31(± 7.45) (R = .83, P < 0.001). Continuous and categorical variables were summarized as mean (SD) and proportions, respectively, and the Kruskal-Wallis test and Spearman correlation coefficients were used.

Conclusions: Limited evidence exists on the effects of different protocols on extravasation management in neonates in the NICU. We recommend our method as a standard protocol in NICU for high-stage extravasated lesions because of the shorter duration of healing, non-invasive nature of this procedure, and lack of side effects or surgical involvement.

Reference:

Sagheb S, Mohseni SO, Lamsehchi A. A new approach to skin extravasation injury management during the neonatal period. BMC Pediatr. 2022 Jul 26;22(1):451. doi: 10.1186/s12887-022-03511-y. PMID: 35883040; PMCID: PMC9317491.