Effect of Twice Daily Application of Coconut Oil in Reducing Water Loss From Skin of Premature Babies in First Week of Life (TEWL)

Lady Hardinge Medical College

Status: Completed

Conditions: Trans Epidermal Water Loss

Treatments: Procedure: Coconut Oil Application

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT01758068

AIIMS/06/TEWL

Details and patient eligibility

About

The skin of newborn infants is immature and ineffective as a barrier. Preterm skin exhibits even more vulnerability to the environment due to poor self regulatory heat mechanisms, paucity of fatty tissue and its thinness. Most preterm babies lose up to 13% of their weight as water loss from their skin during the first week of life. Many strategies have been utilized by neonatologists to decrease this water loss. Edible coconut oil application on the skin acts as a non permeable barrier and can help in achieving this. Hence the investigators decided to undertake this study to objectively assess the reduction in water loss from skin after oil application.

Enrollment: 74 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 12 hours to 7 days old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

All preterm babies born at the study center with birth weight < 1500g were eligible for inclusion in the study.

Exclusion criteria

1. Babies with birth weight less than 750 gms at birth
2. Babies with major congenital malformations.
3. Babies with severe asphyxia, hydrops and shock.
4. Babies with congenital diseases of skin associated with skin breach or denudation of skin precluding oil application
5. Babies with preexisting skin infection such as multiple furuncles (2 or more skin areas - each limb, head, chest, abdomen and back are the individual areas that will be taken as one area)

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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74 participants in 2 patient groups

Coconut Oil Application

Experimental group

Description:

The oil (coconut oil) was applied by the trained nurse to the entire body surface of infant except the face two times a day started as early as possible Four ml of coconut oil was applied using both hands of the caregiver in four strokes starting from the level of clavicles over the chest and abdomen till the groin, from the front of thighs, knee, leg and upto the sole, from above the shoulders over the arm and forearm till the palm continuing medially over the forearm and arm till the axilla and the final stroke was used for the back reaching over the back of the thighs till the heel. Just prior to the first application, and thereafter prior to the subsequent applications the TEWL was recorded using the portable closed chamber evaporimeter. The oil application was continued twice daily (every 12 hrs at the same time as the hour of birth e.g. 11 am and 11pm) till the completion of the seventh day (168 hrs of life)..

Treatment:

Procedure: Coconut Oil Application

No Oil Application

No Intervention group

Description:

Babies in this group were not subjected to oil application. TEWL measurement was recorded every 12 hrs for the first week of life, at the same time as the hour of birth.