Early skin-to-skin contact: protection against colonization by multidrug-resistant bacteria in preterm newborns?

• DOI: 10.22533/at.ed.1593722311097

• Palavras-chave: Recém-Nascido Prematuro; Recém-Nascido de Baixo Peso; Terapia Intensiva Neonatal; Microbiota; Resistência; Método Canguru.

• Keywords: Newborn Premature; Low Weight Newborn; Neonatal Intensive Care; Microbiota; Resistance; Kangaroo Method.

• Abstract: Introduction: Kangaroo care, consisting of skin-to-skin contact, promotion of breastfeeding and early discharge, is a practice that reduces morbidity and mortality in preterm newborns, a population susceptible to colonization by multidrug-resistant bacteria and infections related to health care. Purpose: The aim of the present study was to investigate the association of skin-to-skin contact with the process of colonization of preterm newborns by multidrug-resistant bacteria. Methods: Study longitudinal prospective that included binomials, preterm newborn mother, hospitalized from August 2018 to August 2019 in a public hospital in southern Brazil. Colonization by multidrug-resistant bacteria was investigated in the binomial and neonatal variables were evaluated using Poisson logistic regression with robust variance to obtain the Prevalence Ratio (PR) and 95% Confidence Interval (95%CI). Results: The sample consisted of 114 preterm newborns. Of these, the incidence of colonization by multidrug-resistant bacteria was 44%. The median time for colonization of preterm newborns by multidrug-resistant bacteria was 14 days. Early skin-to-skin contact, initiated within the first seven days of life, halved the prevalence of colonization of preterm newborns by multidrug-resistant bacteria compared to those who made late skin-to-skin contact (PR: 1.67, 95%CI 1.06 -1.39; p = .006).Implications for practice: Skin-to-skin contact, initiated in the first seven days of life of the preterm newborn, reduced the incidence of colonization by multidrug-resistant bacteria.