Investigating changes in vital signs in neonates
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Neo-vital: Investigating changes in vital signs in neonates
IRAS ID
298347
Contact name
Caroline Hartley
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Oxford
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 4 months, 29 days
Research summary
1 in 7 babies require neonatal care. During their time in hospital their vital signs (such as heart rate, breathing rate and oxygen saturation) are continuously monitored as part of standard care. Many factors lead to changes in vital signs, for example, medical procedures such as blood tests can result in brief increases in heart rate. Medication can also alter vital signs, either as an intended effect or as a side effect. However, different infants will respond in different ways to both procedures and medication. Predicting how an individual infant may respond could lead to better individualised care for infants. For example, using an infant’s baseline vital signs to predict whether they will experience cardiorespiratory side effects from a particular drug could mean that doctors could choose an alternative safer treatment plan. To develop these predictive models, we first need to better understand how infants’ vital signs are affected by different procedures and drugs, and how these effects are impacted by other factors such as infection, other pathologies, interaction between drugs and age.
Despite their routine use in hospital neonatal units, detailed electronic records of vital signs are often not recorded. Often, only major events or average values are stated on clinical records. Subtle changes in vital signs are therefore missed, and more complex analysis that may reveal important predictive features within the data is not possible. In this study we will electronically record infant vital signs across longer time periods and during a variety of clinically-necessary procedures and administration of drugs, to explore how these impact vital signs and are altered by factors such as age and pathology.
REC name
North West - Greater Manchester East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/NW/0155
Date of REC Opinion
7 Jul 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion