when to stop humidity in the isolette

[denicu]

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?

[KatRNC]

WOW, we have this whole complicated protocol for weaning, and yet there is no where to post the humidity levels on our flow sheet. Wean by 5% after a few hours, etc etc, based on gestational age. You just know when to wean.. the skin is intact, and the baby is HOT! NO?

[EmilyPeruana]

with vlbw/elbw babies, we have automatic admission orders that state something like this:

please start humidity at 70% (maybe?) for 3-4 weeks, then wean slowly off over 3-4 days.

depending on that infant's fragility at one month of age (and weight), i may leave it on for a little longer or wean much slower....at that point, i'd leave it up to the nurse. it's not a super strict order...but at that point, the infant's skin is totally mature by then...plus if he/she is on any flow, it's humidified...