Correlation Between Sterilized Prongs and Nasal Injury in Newborns Subjected to Non-invasive Ventilation

Abstract

Nasal injury from the use of prongs in non-invasive mechanical ventilation (NIV) is a very common adverse event at Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs). The goal of this research was to evaluate the feasibility of reuse of sterilized binaural prongs in newborns (NBs) submitted to NIV. In order to reach this goal, we have compared eight NBs were submitted to NIV using sterilized prongs (SP Group – SPG) and 11 others with brand-new prongs (NP Group – NPG). The frequency and severity of external nasal injury were evaluated daily through clinical inspection. The frequency of external nasal injury was 87.5% for SPG, and 90.9% for NPG (p = 1.00). Of the 7 external nasal injuries found in the SPG, 4 (57.14%) were Stage I, and 3 (42.86%) were Stage II. Of the 10 external nasal injuries found in the NPG, 9 (90%) were Stage I, and only 1 (10%) reached Stage II. Although the results of this study did not show a significant statistic difference, the use of sterilized prongs did increase the severity of the external nasal injury, making its use contraindicated in newborns undergoing NIV.