This is the first prospective, multicentre cohort study to implement QI programs to prevent admission hypothermia in VLBW infants in China. We have succeeded in preventing hypothermia in VLBW infants using standardized targeted temperature bundle management. The use of ambient temperature at 25 °C, polyethylene wrap [21–24], pre-warmed hats [22–24], transport incubator [25], team training and education, temperature documentation and workflow were all relatively easy practice changes but dramatically improved admission temperatures for VLBW newborns. The incidence of admission hypothermia has dropped from 92.3–62% in the post-QI group, with a decrease of 30.3%.
Because hypothermia has been shown to be associated with LOS, IVH, and death [26–30], we monitor survival without serious complications as a secondary outcome. Concomitant with the near elimination of moderate to severe hypothermia has been a trend toward survival improving. The encouraging result is that our intervention not only prevented hypothermia, but also had a potentially positive impact on the survival rate of VLBW infants.
These reductions may be attributable to the temperature bundle management we implemented, as a significant decline in the first PDSA bundle followed by a gradual decline in each PDSA bundle. In addition to the PDSA bundles, there are no other changes in NICUs, such as neonatal resuscitation process. Similarly, there were no obvious differences between the pre- and post-intervention study populations regarding sex, gestational age, birth weight, caesarean section, antenatal steroids, maternal hypertension, Apgar score at 1 min and 5 min, making changing demographics an unlikely contributor.
Our study confirms previous findings that hypothermia events can be reduced by thermoregulation strategies [11–15, 21]. However, most previous studies have been restricted to the single-center small sample studies. In contrast, our study focused on the limited interventions available in multiple centers, expanding on previous findings. In China, medical staff have poor awareness of the harm of hypothermia in preterm infants during the stabilisation. Our temperature bundle management not only reduces the incidence of hypothermia and improves the prognosis of VLBW infants, but also the bundle is very suitable for China's national conditions and can be generalized. If the bundle could be widely generalized in low - and middle-income countries, more medical staff could be made aware of the harm of hypothermia and take action to improve the outcomes of preterm infants.
However, we should also need to pay attention to the undesired outcomes, such as hyperthermia, which occurred in 1 case after the intervention. One newborn with prolonged time on the chemical mattress had hyperthermic admission temperatures. These cases were rare, and when staff obtained rectal temperature measurements every 30 minutes from delivery room or operating room to admission, they should adjust practice on the basis of the neonate’s temperature by removing the chemical mattress when temperatures rose to greater than 37.0 °C.
Prospective data collection, weekly feedback to individual clinicians, and monthly reviews of the percentage of hypothermia cases were key to the overall sustainability of this QI effort. This require strong nursing support for staff education, real-time feedback to clinicians and nurses in charge, and both nursing and medical leadership support to provide the time for the staff. Our team, even with different experiences in the care of preterm infants (such as pediatric house staff, neonatal nurse practitioners, and neonatologists), implemented successfully a temperature bundle management to prevent hypothermia in premature babies. Moreover, this successful QI initiative experience further supports that we were able to promote the approach in more and more NICUs in China.
The advantage of this study is that it is the first time to recognize that the transition from intrauterine environment to extrauterine environment in preterm infants will lead to hypothermia and affect their prognosis, so as to develop practical and effective programs to reduce the incidence of admission hypothermia. We set up the SNN to collect data prospectively. The SNN is affiliated with China's regional Perinatal Medical Center. If the temperature bundle management can be promoted in China, it will greatly improve the quality of clinical work. By refining the temperature bundle management process, we can significantly reduce the incidence of hypothermia in VLBW infants. So, the simple and practicable bundle can be extended broadly to more and more NICUs affiliated to perinatal medical centers at all levels in China. Limitations of this study include that this QI initiative took place in level-III NICUs, which is staffed with a large number of pediatric residents and nurses. As a result, PDSA bundles are relatively easy to communicate and issue, while in smaller institutions, it is difficult to implement such bundles rigorously and carefully. Second, although we did not identify any demographic shifts between the pre- and post-intervention periods, there may have been unmeasured differences, such as seasonal room temperature changes, that may have confounded the results. However, the potential value in promoting “NICU forward lead” will likely greatly outweigh the low cost and ease of implementing simple thermoregulation strategies.