NICU Flashcards
1
Q
What are competencies of a NICU OT?
A
- Understanding of pediatric practice
- Must know about medical conditions associated with prematurity and vulnerabilities associated with neonates
- Understand family needs and stressors due to NICU environment and prematurity
- Understanding of pre-term infant neuromotor and neurobehavioral development
- Must be collaborative member of NICU team
2
Q
What is the role of OT in the NICU?
A
- Developmentally individualized supportive care
- Promotes physiologic stability, decreased stress above all
- Environmental modifications and education based on sensory processing
- Family education and collaboration training caregivers and families about calming strategies
- Neurodevelopmental intervention
- Positioning
- Splinting
- Feeding evaluation and training
3
Q
What is a radiant warmer?
A
- An open bed with an overhead heat source
4
Q
What is an incubator?
A
- A clear, plastic heated box that encloses the mattress and infant
5
Q
What is an open crib?
A
- A basinet style bed with no external heat source provided. The infant is dressed in clothes and swaddled in blankets
6
Q
What is bag and mask ventilation and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and ECMO?
A
- Oxygen assisted ventilation
- Bag and mask: a bag attached to a face mask is rhythmically squeezed to deliver positive pressure and oxygen
- CPAP: steady stream of pressurized air given through endotrachial tube, nasopharyngeal tube, nasal prongs, or a small nasa mask
7
Q
What is mechanical ventilation?
A
- Machine controls or assists breathing by mechanically inflating the lungs, increasing alveolar ventilation, and improving gas exchange
8
Q
What is Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO)?
A
- Sophisticated life support system that uses modified heart-lung bypass to provide nearly total lung rest and minimize barotraumas (lung damage from prolonged ventilation)
- Similar to a lung heart bybass
9
Q
What are examples are oxygen therapy without assisted ventilation?
A
- Vapotherm, oxygen hood, nasal cannula
10
Q
What is Vapotherm?
A
- Respiratory therapy device attached to a nasal cannula that allows very high nasal flows of warmed and moist air
11
Q
What is an oxygen hood?
A
- Plastic hood that provides a flow of warm, humidified oxygen placed over infant’s head
12
Q
What is a nasal cannula?
A
- Humidified oxygen delivered by flexible NC with small prongs that fit into the nares
13
Q
What is the intrauterine environment like?
A
- TACTILE: constant proprioceptive input, smooth, wet, comfortable, boundaries
- VESTIBULAR: maternal movements, dinural cycle, amniotic fluid creates gentle oscillating environment, flexed posture
- AUDITORY: biological sounds, muffled environmental sounds
- VISUAL: dark, occasional red dim spectrum light
- THERMAL: constant warmth and consistent temperature
14
Q
What is the extrauterine environment like?
A
- TACTILE: painful and invasive, dry cool air, medical touching, some social touching
- VESTIBULAR: flat postures, rapid position changes, influence of gravity, restraints due to equipment
- AUDITORY: loud, non-contingent, mechanical frequent harsh intermittent impulse noise
- VISUAL: bright lights, eyes unprotected, often no dinural rhythm
- THERMAL: environmental temperature variations, high risk of neonatal heat loss from thin skin and lack of subcutaneous fat
15
Q
What does light exposure in the NICU consist of?
A
- Fluorescent light exposure can lead to:
1) Chromosomal damage
2) Disruption of dinural rhythms
3) Over stimulation leading to physiological distress - Pre 30 week infants are unable to close eyelids tightly or filter light properly
- Constant lighting affects development of natural circadian rhythms
16
Q
What are environmental light modifications that can be made?
A
- Dimmed light especially at night
- Use of moderate light only
- Shield infant eyes with bedside draping or phototherapy eye mask or isolette cover
- Focused lighting for procedures that require more light