when to stop humidity in the isolette

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I was taking care of a former 24 wk who was 50 days old and over 1300 gm. I questioned the charge nurse as to why he was still on humidity and she said if he is over 1300 grams to request an order to stop it. She brought up in rounds and the attending on said it should be continued. She explained to him what the policy is and he said he wants it on-it was set low at 30%. He claims unless the baby was on air-it will dry out the respiratory tract. He equates it to turning on the heat during the winter and not having a humidfier-how dry the air is. What is your unit policy on using humidity in the isolette?

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Specializes in NICU Level III.

If they are under 28 weeks when born we usually start at 70% humidity. We start weaning by 5-10% at DOL 7 and turn it off around 40%...don't use it past DOL 10. It makes it easier for nasties to start growing in the isolette.

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Thanks for your reply. When I was on staff I remember the policy being babies

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We basically do the same as NNT. Not only because of the nasty aspect, but wouldn't their skin be keratinized after a couple of week on the outside?

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I would think that but the neo and the fellow's focus was on drying out the resp tract. As an agency nurse I don t get to take care of the sick kids anymore so I like to always check on other sources such as this website to see what are the current trends. But at the end of the day the attending made the decision to keep the humidity on.

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Specializes in NICU.

You still have it going at 30%?? You must live in a low humidity climate! Our normal air here runs ~40% humidity (on a good day!) so when we get to that is when we turn it off. I've also occasionally seen the MD's D/C it earlier than the standing order is written for whatever reason.

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I would think that but the neo and the fellow's focus was on drying out the resp tract. As an agency nurse I don t get to take care of the sick kids anymore so I like to always check on other sources such as this website to see what are the current trends. But at the end of the day the attending made the decision to keep the humidity on.

Your o2 is humidified, right?

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Specializes in L/D 4 yrs & Level 3 NICU 22 yrs.

We turn off humidity after 28 weeks because the skin is mature. All O2 is humidified - even down to 0.1 or 0.2 LPM. Your O2 should be humidified also.

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Specializes in NICU.

70% for 1 week. 50% for the second week. Off after 14 days since even the ELBW's skin is mature by then. Then the bed is changed out and they start fresh. All O2 is humidified.

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Specializes in NICU.

We start at 70% humidity for all babies less than 28 weeks and leave it on for one week. We do not wean it, just turn it off.

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Specializes in PICU, ICU, Transplant, Trauma, Surgical.

Our unit doesn't wean heated humidity right now either. I am currently working on getting a protocol implemented into practice for weaning humidity. I've seen kids with impaired skin integrity after turning the humidity off suddenly. 23 weeker, HH x7 days @ 70% then no humidity. I know their skin is supposed to be keratinized after DOL 7.... but I've seen kids with cracked abdomens etc. Ouch!

I have some research to do....

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Specializes in NICU.

Our policy is that all babies are off in 2 weeks (14 days). There are very few exceptions to our rule.

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