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Topical application of coconut oil to the skin of preterm infants: a systematic review

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Abstract

Preterm infants are at risk of increased trans-epidermal water loss and infections due to epidermal immaturity. The emollient and anti-infective properties of coconut oil make it a potentially beneficial topical agent for this population. We aimed to systematically review randomised trials assessing the effects of topical coconut oil in preterm infants. Medline, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and CINAHL were searched. Seven trials (n = 727 infants) were included. The majority of trials included relatively mature infants (gestation > 32 weeks, birth weight > 1200 g). The duration of intervention (5–31 days) and outcomes of interest varied among included studies. Meta-analysis using random effects model found significantly lower incidence of hospital-acquired blood stream infections (HABSI) in the coconut oil group (11/164 vs 32/166; relative risk 0.35, 95% confidence interval 0.18, 0.67, p = 0.001; I2 = 0%, two RCTs). Overall, infants in the coconut oil group had decreased water loss, decreased infection rates, better growth and skin condition. There were no significant adverse effects associated with coconut oil application. The overall quality of evidence was considered moderate for the outcome of HABSI and low for the outcome of physical growth based on GRADE guidelines.

Conclusion: Topical coconut oil application to the skin may be beneficial in preterm infants, but the quality of evidence is low to moderate. Adequately powered randomised controlled trials, especially in very preterm (< 32 weeks) and extremely preterm (< 28 weeks) infants, are needed.

What is Known:

• Coconut oil has been used traditionally for topical application in terms of infants in Asian countries

What is New:

• This systematic review found that topical application of coconut oil may reduce the risk of infection and improve weight gain and skin condition in preterm infants. However, the quality of evidence was considered to be moderate to low based on GRADE guidelines.

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Abbreviations

CI:

Confidence interval

HR:

Hazard ratio

IQR:

Inter quartile range

LOS:

Late-onset sepsis

PRISMA:

Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses

RCT:

Randomised controlled trial

SD:

Standard deviation

TEWL:

Trans-epidermal water loss

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neonatal Directorate, King Edward Memorial Hospital for Women and Perth Children’s Hospital, Perth, WA, Australia

    Sameer Shivaji Pupala, Shripada Rao, Tobias Strunk & Sanjay Patole

  2. Centre for Neonatal Research and Education, School of Medicine, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia

    Sameer Shivaji Pupala, Shripada Rao, Tobias Strunk & Sanjay Patole

Authors
  1. Sameer Shivaji Pupala
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  2. Shripada Rao
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  3. Tobias Strunk
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  4. Sanjay Patole
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Contributions

Sameer Pupala: Concept, design, independent literature search selection of studies for inclusion, extraction and interpretation of the data, assessing the risk of bias of included studies, GRADE evidence, writing the first and final drafts of the manuscript; Shripada Rao: Independent literature search, selection of studies for inclusion, data extraction, meta-analysis to generate forest plots, GRADE evidence, helping with the first and final draft of the manuscript; Tobias Strunk: Concept, design, interpretation of the data, GRADE evidence, critical review of the first and the final draft of the manuscript. Sanjay Patole: Concept, design, interpretation of the data, GRADE evidence, critical review of the first and the final draft of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sameer Shivaji Pupala.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional ethics committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Not applicable since it was a systematic review.

Additional information

Communicated by Patrick Van Reempts

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Pupala, S.S., Rao, S., Strunk, T. et al. Topical application of coconut oil to the skin of preterm infants: a systematic review. Eur J Pediatr 178, 1317–1324 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-019-03407-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-019-03407-7

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