The impact of nursing position on cardiac output and cerebral circulation in healthy term neonates using bedside ultrasound: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate cardiac and cerebral circulation in stable term neonates. Study Design: This was a prospective observational study to evaluate the relationship between cardiac output (CO) and cerebral circulation in different positions. The study was carried out at a tertiary neonatal intensive care unit from May to November 2018. Methodology: Nineteen healthy term neonates were included in the study. The CO was measured in the supine, right, and left lateral positions using Doppler echocardiography, and simultaneously, the resistive index (RI) of the middle cerebral artery was measured. The CO and cerebral blood flow in each nursing position were measured. Results: The mean CO measured in the supine, right, and left lateral positions was found to be 350,356, and 334 mL/kg/min, and the corresponding RI was 0.84, 0.83, and 0.81, respectively. The CO was increased in the right lateral position compared to the supine and left lateral position; whereas the RI was increased in the supine position compared to the right and the left lateral position although not statistically significant. Conclusions: There was no statistically significant relationship between cerebral blood flow and CO in different body positions.