Cardiovascular transition to extrauterine life in preterm neonate: Challenges and nursing care

This review study explores cardiovascular changes in preterm neonates during the transition from intrauterine to extrauterine life, respective challenges, and nursing care during this period.

The transition from intrauterine to extrauterine life requires well-regulated and complex biochemical, physiological, and anatomical changes to ensure the survival of the neonate. Compared with term neonate, transition for a preterm neonate occurs over a longer period of time. Careful assessment and timely intervention by health care providers is pivotal to help the preterm neonate adapt to extrauterine life.

This review study was conducted through systematic and focused searching out for literature published between 2000 and 2020 in database/ search engines Google Scholar, Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus by the selected keywords Transition, Extrauterine life, Preterm neonate, Nursing care and their Persian equivalents.

Twenty six English articles and two books about neonate related to the topics of transition to neonatal extrauterine life, challenges and respective nursing care were found. Findings were organized into five thematic category: immature myocardium, blood circulation, patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), hypotension and hemodynamic instability.

Comprehensive hemodynamic monitoring and skillful clinical evaluation, and wise judgment are recommended for better management of complex transition phenomena in preterm neonates. Management protocols should be developed for transition period in preterm neonates.