A Feasibility Study to Test the NICU Paternal Needs Inventory.

BACKGROUND: There has been little research exploring paternal needs while experiencing a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) stay. Some tools exist to measure paternal needs, but do not incorporate items to capture important information about how fathers cope with stress differently, and may have different needs. Therefore, an instrument is needed to measure and prioritize what needs are important to fathers to help facilitate the development of nursing interventions to help fathers cope with the NICU environment. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to conduct a feasibility study before large-scale pilot testing the instrument, the NICU Paternal Needs Inventory (NPNI), so we could then determine what are the physical, emotional, and psychological needs of fathers. METHODS: A nonexperimental, quantitative, and descriptive design was used to address the study's aims. Fathers were recruited from a level IV NICU and asked to complete an online survey (consisting of a demographic survey and the NPNI). RESULTS: Needs rated 100% were knowing infant's progress, directions on caring for infant, flexible visitation, and assurance receiving the best care. The remainder showed a wide range of responses suggesting that needs of fathers are individual and varied. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE AND RESEARCH: Use of the NPNI to evaluate a father's unique and individual needs would allow for the nurse to develop father-specific, individualized interventions. Findings support that the NPNI is feasible to accomplish measuring fathers' needs, but a larger study is needed to test the reliability and validity of this tool.

The Implications of COVID-19 on Family-Centered Care in the NICU.

During the recent COVID-19 pandemic, neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) issued strict visiting policies that limited parent visitation and impacted how family-centered care was practiced. This article describes how these visiting policies impacted parents and neonates. Implications for clinical practice and future research will also be discussed.

Complications of Long-Term Prostaglandin E1 Use in Newborns With Ductal-Dependent Critical Congenital Heart Disease.

Prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) has been used for decades in the medical treatment of ductal dependent critical congenital heart disease in neonates. The article is a report of a retrospective evaluation of the long-term effects of PGE1 in a neonatal intensive care unit in Saudi Arabia. There were 22 subjects with a wide spectrum of cardiac defects maintained on PGE1 for a mean of 38 days (range: 6-200 days). The majority of the complications included hypokalemia, hypotension, and apnea/bradycardia. Pseudo-Barett syndrome and gastric outlet obstruction were also found. While long-term administration of PGE1 is rare in North America, it is important to be aware of possible adverse effects of fluid and electrolyte imbalance, gastric outlet obstruction, and feeding difficulties.