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Comparative Study
. 2000 Dec;19(8):41-8.
doi: 10.1891/0730-0832.19.8.41.

How rewarding can a pacifier be? A systematic review of nonnutritive sucking in preterm infants

J Pinelli  1 , A Symington
Affiliations
Comparative Study

How rewarding can a pacifier be? A systematic review of nonnutritive sucking in preterm infants

J Pinelli et al. Neonatal Netw. 2000 Dec.

Abstract

Purpose: To determine whether nonnutritive sucking (NNS) in preterm infants influences selected outcome variables.

Design: A systematic review, based on the Cochrane Collaboration format, of trials utilizing experimental or quasi-experimental designs in which NNS (by pacifier) was compared to no provision of NNS; related to naso/orogastric tube feedings, bottle feedings, or not associated with feeding.

Sample: All infants born at < 37 weeks gestation. This review consisted of 19 studies; 13 were randomized controlled trials. Sample sizes ranged from 10 to 59 infants and totaled 518 infants.

Main outcome variable: Weight gain, energy intake, heart rate, oxygen saturation, length of hospital stay, intestinal transit time, and postconceptional age at full oral feedings.

Results: NNS significantly decreased the length of hospital stay in preterm infants. The review did not reveal a consistent benefit of NNS with respect to other major clinical variables. No negative outcomes were reported in any of the studies.

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