Effect of noise intensity on vital parameters of newborns in a tertiary care hospital

Objective: To find effect of noise intensity on heart rate, respiratory rate and oxygen saturation in late preterm and term newborns in a tertiary care hospital.

Method: A controlled prospective study was carried out on 100 preterm and term newborns in the Surat Municipal Institute of Medical Education and Research during a 3 month period. Newborns were exposed to white noise of different intensities for 5 seconds and vital parameters were recorded. A statistical analysis was performed with SPSS 16.0.

Results: Out of the 100 newborns, 65 were term and 35 were late preterm (34-36 weeks). Male to female ratio was 51:49. Heart rate increased significantly (p<0.01) to all levels of noise exposure i.e. from 60-70 dB and 80-90 dB in both groups. Oxygen saturation decreased as the noise intensity increased in both groups but only significantly (p<0.05) in high noise intensity of 80-90 dB whereas, there was no effect on the respiratory rate and by gender.

Conclusions: A 5 second white noise has a variable effect on the vital parameters of newborns; it accelerates heart rate and decreases oxygen saturation but has no effect on respiratory rate and gender.

Sri Lanka Journal of Child Health, 2017; 46: 66-69