| Sumario: | Background: In the pediatric population, tracheostomy is most common to provide good ventilator support, and that too is most commonly performed in the infant population. Tracheostomy is frequently associated with devices such as ventilators, which can further interrupt the neck motion and this in turn, may also affect the gross motor development. Purpose: To determine the effectiveness of early intervention in post-tracheostomy infants with developmental delays. Materials and Methods: A randomized control trial was conducted with a total of 20 tracheostomy infants with a mean age of 2 months. Subjects were randomized into the early intervention group (n = 10) and the conventional group (n = 10). Both groups were treated with routine chest care in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. In addition, the early intervention group included neck postural and movement activities for 20 minutes per day for 5 days for 4 weeks. Results: One outcome concentrated on neck control by using a clinical rating scale for head control (HCS), and another outcome concentrated on gross motor milestones (lying and rolling components) by using the Gross Motor Functional Measure (GMFM-88). Both groups were similar at baseline, with a p-value of 0.8493 in HCS and 0.56866 in GMFM. Following improvement in head control, the GMFM score improves from 29% to 74% in the conventional group. Early intervention groups progressed from 25% to 89%. Conclusion: Early intervention programs concentrated on post-tracheostomy infants showed significant improvement in the development of neck control and rolling. And organized head movement in space was noted when compared to conventional groups.
|
|---|