Reporting nasal pressure injuries in neonates receiving non-invasive ventilation: a scoping review

Although neonates receiving Non-Invasive Ventilation (NIV) for respiratory support are at risk for nasal pressure injuries, efforts to standardize reporting are limited. A scoping review was conducted to identify the reporting systems used for describing these injuries.

PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science were queried for papers reporting nasal injury with NIV usage in neonates. The primary outcome was reporting system usage.

705 titles and abstracts were screened. 40 papers met inclusion criteria. Most studies were Randomized Clinical Trials (37.5%) or cohort studies (37.5%). Most commonly, nasal injuries were reported using a unique, descriptive scale developed by the authors (10 studies, 25%). The Fischer et al 2010 scale, a three-stage reporting system, was used in 8 studies (20%). While 15 studies (38.0%) reported on specific anatomic subsite injury, only 2 studies (5.0%) employed endoscopy for assessment.

Wide heterogeneity in pressure injury reporting secondary to NIV exists across specialties, institutions, and literature.