Background: Peak sound levels during sleep can compromise the development of hospitalized infants. Quiet time is a strategy implemented in neonatal units to promote the sleeping of neonates by reducing noise levels, luminosity, and handling during particular periods of the day. Purpose: To determine the impact of quiet time on reducing sound levels and increasing total sleep time. Methods: This longitudinal study was conducted at a neonatal intermediate care unit with a convenience sample of 12 premature infants. Four times per day, 60-minute quiet times were provided in the neonatal unit. Sleep-awake states and sound levels were evaluated during quiet times as well as 60 minutes before and afterward. Polysomnography was used for sleep-awake state assessment, and a noise dosimeter was used to check sound levels every 24 hours. Results: The preterm infants had a corrected gestational age of 35.0 ± 1.5 weeks and weighed 1606.0 ± 317.8 g. Total sleep time was highest during quiet time (P = .005). Premature infants remained awake for longer following quiet times (P = .005). There was also a reduction in sound level during quiet times compared with the other time frames (P = .006). No statistically significant relationship was found between total sleep time and sound levels more than 24 hours. Implications for Practice: Quiet time is a nursing intervention that should be implemented in all neonatal units. Implications for Research: Future research should use a greater sample size and other factors that influence sleep should be further investigated.

This paper is intended as a follow-up to the ISPO Consensus Conference on Amputation Surgery. It reviews all the literature on lower limb prosthetics published after 1990. The review was considered under six categories: feet, knees, hips, thermoplastics, liners/suspension and computers.

Objective:To compare the total sleep time of premature infant in the presence or absence of reducing sensory and environmental stimuli in the neonatal unit. Method: Longitudinal study in a Neonatal Intermediate Care Unit of a public hospital in Sao Paulo. The sample consisted of 13 premature infants. We used polysomnograph and unstructured observation for data collection. We analyzed 240 and 1200 minutes corresponding to the periods of the presence and absence of environmental management, respectively. Data were compared in proportion to the total sleep time in the two moments proposed by the study. Results: The total sleep time in periods without environmental management was on average 696.4 (± 112.1) minutes and with management 168.5 (± 27.9) minutes, proportionally premature infant slept an average of 70.2% during periods with no intervention and 58.0% without management (p=0.002). Conclusion: Reducing stimulation and handling of premature infant environment periods was effective to provide greater total sleep time. DESCRIPTORS INTRODUCTIONThe estimate of premature births in Brazil is about 9.8% of the 2,913.160 births registered in 2011 (1) . Due to prematurity, the proportion of premature infants (PI) may require hospitalization in a neonatal unit, which is commonly characterized as in environment that has high sensory stimuli overload for the newborn, additionally, there is a need for frequent management for invasive and painful procedures (2)(3)(4)(5) . The characteristics of the neonatal unit environment and care provided to premature infants according to the institutional routines can reduce the total sleep time leading them to consequent deprivation, which can be constituted in morbidity factor, especially when the gestational age is low and the length of hospital stay is long (2,4,6) . Many studies show that sleep deprivation of premature infants in the neonatal unit can lead to worsening of clinical status and delay hospital discharge, besides that, it could trigger behavioral disorders in adulthood (4,(7)(8) . PI present sleep with polyphasic pattern that are classified into three stages: active, quiet and indeterminate sleep (3,7,(9)(10) . The different stages of sleep are essential for the homeostasis of premature infants, because they establish relations with important physiological and neurological activities (3,9) . In the quiet sleep, decreased basal metabolic rate occurs, which promotes replenishment of energy reserves as well as promote cellular repair, in the active sleep brain activation occurs, which is essential for the structural maturation of the central nervous system (10)(11) . It is noteworthy that the indeterminate sleep cannot be considered as quiet or active, it is characterized as the transition between these two types of sleep patterns (12) . Mitigating possible harmful effects of care provided to hospitalized newborns is one of the actions that should be prioritized by professionals working towards recovery (13) . In this context, the developmental care aims at reduc...

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Objective: Identify the types of handling procedures performed on preterm infants and assess their influence on total sleep time, wake time and the objective sleep variables. Methods: Observational and correlational study conducted in the neonatal unit of a teaching hospital. The sample was made up of 12 preterm infants who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria established for the study. Data were collected from March 2013 to April 2014, by means of polysomnography, filming and observation for 24 uninterrupted hours. Descriptive statistics, the Friedman test, Pearson's correlation and linear regression, with significant values of p≤0.05, were used. Results: The preterm infants studied were predominantly late preterm, female, with low birth weight, and a mean chronological age of 14 days. The newborns were handled an average of 176.4 (±37.9) times during a 24-hour period; 58% of the handling procedures were for monitoring. The proportion of total sleep time was 57.2% in 24 hours. There was no statistically significant correlation between frequency and duration of direct and ambient handling and the sleep of preterm infants in a 24-hour period. Single handling procedures had a strong positive correlation with wake time. Conclusion: Handling was related to monitoring, therapeutic/diagnostic and hygiene/comfort, with a prevalence of direct, single handling procedures. No statistically significant influence on the objective sleep variables was identified, except for single handling procedures where there was a correlation with wake time. ResumoObjetivo: Identificar os tipos das manipulações realizadas em recém-nascidos prematuros e avaliar a influência sobre os tempos totais de sono, vigília e as variáveis objetivas do sono. Métodos: Estudo observacional e de correlação realizado em uma unidade neonatal de hospital universitário. A amostra foi constituída por 12 recém-nascidos prematuros que atenderam aos critérios de inclusão e exclusão estabelecidos para o estudo. Os dados foram coletados no período de março de 2013 à abril de 2014 e obtidos por meio do polissonígrafo, filmagem e observação durante 24 horas, ininterruptas. Utilizou-se a estatística descritiva, teste de Friedman, correlação de Pearson e regressão linear, com valores significantes p≤0,05. Resultados: Os prematuros estudados eram predominantemente tardios, do sexo feminino, com baixo peso ao nascer e idade cronológica média de 14 dias. Os neonatos foram manipulados em média 176,4(±37,9) vezes durante as 24 horas, sendo que 58% das manipulações foram para monitoramento. A proporção do tempo total de sono foi 57,2% em 24 horas. Não houve correlação estatisticamente significante entre as frequências e os tempos de duração das manipulações diretas e do ambiente com o sono dos RNPT em 24 horas. A forma única apresentou correlação fortemente positiva com a vigília. Conclusão: As manipulações relacionaram-se ao monitoramento, terapêutica/diagnóstica e cuidados de higiene e conforto, com prevalência das manipulações diretas e únicas, não sendo iden...

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The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of ear protectors on the sleep of preterm newborns during the “quiet” times in intermediate care nursery. This was a clinical, randomized, controlled crossover study conducted in two neonatal units in São Paulo, Brazil. The sample consisted of preterm infants who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria for the study. Polysomnography and unstructured observation were used for data collection. Twenty-four preterm infants with a mean gestational age of 33.2 weeks and current weight of 1.747 g were analyzed. There was no significant difference in the total sleep time of preterm infants with and without the use of ear protectors. Newborns with lower gestational age showed a significant reduction in total sleep time with the use of ear protectors ( p < .05). The use of ear protection did not increase the total sleep time for preterm infants.

The objective of this study was to verify the influence of the gravitational infusion method or syringe infusion pump on changes in hemolysis markers of irradiated and nonirradiated packed red blood cells (PRBCs) in vitro administered in a neonate peripheral intravenous catheter. An experimental study was conducted in a laboratory under controlled environmental conditions. Irradiated and nonirradiated PRBCs were administered in triplicate by the gravitational method and 10-mL/hour syringe infusion pump, in peripheral intravenous catheter, Vialon, 24-G caliber. Aliquots were collected directly from the PRBC bag, after manual filling of the infusion system and after infusion by the catheters. The following hemolytic markers were analyzed: degree of hemolysis (%), hematocrit (Ht, %), free hemoglobin (fHb, g/dL), potassium (K, mmol/L), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH, U/L). Mann-Whitney and Student's t tests were used, P ≤ .05. The gravitational method significantly influenced increasing fHb (P = .007), Ht (P = .002), K (P = .002), and