NCT01364948

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

Effect of Topical Oil Application on Trans-epidermal Water Loss (TEWL) in Preterm Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW) Infants - A Randomized Clinical Trial

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 74 (actual)
• Sponsor: All India Institute of Medical Sciences · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 12 Hours – 168 Hours
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

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. Oil application on the skin can act as a non permeable barrier and can help in reducing water loss from the skin. Edible coconut oil, often used for traditional massage of babies by Indian communities, is culturally acceptable and Hence the investigators decided to undertake this study to objectively assess the reduction in water loss from skin after oil application

Conditions

• Trans Epidermal Water Loss (TEWL)

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Coconut oil application	Four ml coconut oil application twice daily for first week
OTHER	No oil application	Oil application was not done

Timeline

• Start date: 2006-01-01
• Primary completion: 2006-11-01
• Completion: 2006-12-01
• First posted: 2011-06-03
• Last updated: 2011-06-03

Locations

1 site across 1 country: India