Early Weaning of Preterm Newborn From Incubator to Cot at 1400 Grams

Background: To maintain the body temperature of preterm newborns is one of the essential criteria for discharge from hospital. Aim: we aimed to assess the feasibility and the safety of an early weaning protocol from incubator to unheated cot at 1400 g preterm newborns. Methods: This was a randomized control trial with preterm neonates with birth weights \< 1400 g conducted at King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We compared newborns weaned to cot at a weight of 1400 g to newborns weaned at a weight of 1600 g. The outcome was to assess the feasibility of the protocol in terms of temperature control and average weight gain. Results: A total of 23 preterm neonates were recruited in this study. The baseline characteristics were similar except for the gestational age was higher in the newborns enrolled to 1400 g group. Early weaning was achieved in 100% of newborns without significant adverse effects on temperature stability or weight gain. Incidence of low and high temperatures per newborn and the average weight gain before and after transfer and after transfer were not different between the two groups. Conclusion: Our results showed the feasibility and safety of 1400 g weaning protocol for preterm newborns, without any adverse effects or increasing the neonatal length of hospital stay. Further investigations in larger patient groups are recommended.