Abstract
Background
Natural vegetable oils are widely used for newborn massage in many low resource settings. Animal models indicated that sunflower seed oil (SSO) can accelerate skin barrier recovery following damage, while other oils, including mustard oil (MO), may cause further skin barrier damage. The objective was to compare the effects of two SSO and MO used for routine massage on skin integrity in premature and full-term neonates.
Methods
This community-based cluster randomized controlled trial included 995 neonates assigned to full body massage with sunflower seed oil (SSO, intervention) or mustard seed oil (MO, standard practice) from July 2012–May 2014 in Sarlahi, Nepal. Skin integrity measures were evaluated over 28 days, including skin condition (erythema, rash, dryness), skin surface pH, stratum corneum (SC) cohesion/protein concentration, and transepidermal water loss (TEWL). Overall means and rates of change in these skin measures were compared between oil groups using bivariate random-effects models.
Results
500 and 495 live born neonates received repeated massage with MO and SSO, respectively. Skin pH decreased more quickly for SSO than MO in the first week of life, with a difference in mean daily reductions of 0.02 (95% CI: 0.002–0.040). Erythema, rash and dryness increased (worsened) over days 1–14 then decreased by day 28, with no significant oil group differences. TEWL increased over time, with no significant oil group differences. Gestational age did not modify the effect; the slightly faster decrease in skin pH among SSO infants was similar in magnitude between term and preterm infants.
Conclusions
Oil type may contribute to differences in skin integrity when neonates are massaged regularly. The more rapid acid mantle development observed for SSO may be protective for neonates in lower resource settings.
Trial registration
ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01177111); registered August 6th, 2010.
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