Università degli studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia

Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia
Corso di laurea in infermieristica - Sede di Modena

Abstract

Neonatal hypoglycemia is considered to be the blood glucose level of less than 47 mg/dL and affects about 5-15% of newborns. Prevention and treatment are the key elements of intervention and management, which require the early identification of a newborn at risk and the establishment of prophylactic measures to prevent the occurrence of hypoglycemia.
The role of the nurse is very important not only for his technical skills, but also for the task of direct observer of the newborn during the whole process of adaptation to extrauterine life and in the first post-natal days. 
Treatment choices vary according to birth weight and gestational age. 
The initial treatment often includes feeding through breastfeeding, which is recognized as the best method to feed a newborn, associated or not with the use of oral Dextrose Gel. 
The potential advantages of Dextrose Gel are: to safeguard of the link between mother and newborn during treatment, the reduction of admission to neonatal intensive care, the ease of administration and the low cost, better results of breastfeeding, good tolerance and acceptability for both staff and parents. 
If the outcome of the oral treatment is not positive, intravenous dextrose is indicated. 
It is widely recognized that prolonged or recurrent periods of hypoglycaemia can lead to long-term neurocognitive impairment and this may depend on an infant's ability to produce alternative fuels. 
From the data collected and analyzed in this thesis, it can be deduced that dextrose gel 40% treatment can be considered the first line of oral treatment in neonates with a non-severe hypoglycemia (>30 mg/dL).