Trial reportPediatrics2013
Plastic bags for prevention of hypothermia in preterm and low birth weight infants.
Trial report in Pediatrics, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Delivery Room Interventions for Hypothermia in Preterm Neonates: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-analysis.JAMA pediatrics · 2021Pooled it
- European consensus recommendations for neonatal and paediatric retrievals of positive or suspected COVID-19 patients.Pediatric research · 2021Guideline
- Interventions to reduce preterm birth and stillbirth, and improve outcomes for babies born preterm in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review.Journal of global health · 2021Pooled it
- Interventions to prevent hypothermia at birth in preterm and/or low birth weight infants.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2018Pooled it
- The effect of coverings, including plastic bags and wraps, on mortality and morbidity in preterm and full-term neonates.Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association · 2016Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Caregiver behavior change for child survival and development in low- and middle-income countries: an examination of the evidence.Journal of health communication · 2014Pooled it
- Temperature probe placement in very preterm infants during delivery room stabilization: an open-label randomized trial.Pediatric research · 2024Trial
- Standard care with plastic bag or portable thermal nest to prevent hypothermia at birth: a three-armed randomized controlled trial.Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association · 2018Trial
- Using polyethylene plastic bag to prevent moderate hypothermia during transport in very low birth weight infants: a randomized trial.Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association · 2018Trial
- Randomized trial of plastic bags to prevent term neonatal hypothermia in a resource-poor setting.Pediatrics · 2013Trial
- Evaluation of two polyethylene bags in preventing admission hypothermia in preterm infants: a quasi-randomized clinical trial.Jornal de pediatriaTrial
- Assessment of equipment and human resources in a national survey of neonatal resuscitation in Iran.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Article
- Observational
- Assessment of rewarming methods in unplanned out-of-hospital births from a prospective cohort.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2020Article
- Potential causes of early death among admitted newborns in a rural Tanzanian hospital.PloS one · 2019Article
- The impact of a quality improvement effort in reducing admission hypothermia in preterm infants following delivery.Korean journal of pediatrics · 2018Article
- Implementation of a multidisciplinary guideline improves preterm infant admission temperatures.Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association · 2017Article
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7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
objectivesHypothermia contributes to neonatal mortality and morbidity, especially in preterm and low birth weight infants in developing countries. Plastic bags covering the trunk and extremities of very low birth weight infants reduces hypothermia. This technique has not been studied in larger infants or in many resource-limited settings. The objective was to determine if placing preterm and low birth weight infants inside a plastic bag at birth maintains normothermia.
methodsInfants at 26 to 36 weeks' gestational age and/or with a birth weight of 1000 to 2500 g born at the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka, Zambia, were randomized by using a 1:1 allocation and parallel design to standard thermoregulation (blanket or radiant warmer) care or to standard thermoregulation care plus placement inside a plastic bag at birth. The primary outcome measure was axillary temperature in the World Health Organization-defined normal range (36.5-37.5°C) at 1 hour after birth.
resultsA total of 104 infants were randomized. At 1 hour after birth, infants randomized to plastic bag (n = 49) were more likely to have a temperature in the normal range as compared with infants in the standard thermoregulation care group (n = 55; 59.2% vs 32.7%; relative risk 1.81; 95% confidence interval 1.16-2.81; P = .007). The temperature at 1 hour after birth in the infants randomized to plastic bag was 36.5 ± 0.5°C compared with 36.1 ± 0.6°C in standard care infants (P < .001). Hyperthermia (>38.0°C) did not occur in any infant.
conclusionsPlacement of preterm/low birth weight infants inside a plastic bag at birth compared with standard thermoregulation care reduced hypothermia without resulting in hyperthermia, and is a low-cost, low-technology tool for resource-limited settings.
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