RATIONALE: The vestibular system is a sensory system within the inner ear and the brain that controls balance and physical coordination. Vestibular stimulation may have an impact on various physiological processes, including breathing, reducing apnea episodes and the need for respiratory support....
✦ The floor
Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
Await the full review's conclusions before changing neonatal vestibular stimulation protocols; evidence synthesis from a Cochrane review is the right level of evidence to inform practice, but the specific findings and certainty ratings must be read before acting.
Preterm infants are at high risk for developmental delays, and this Cochrane review provides the highest-level evidence synthesis on whether vestibular stimulation is a viable intervention to improve outcomes — directly relevant to audiologists and developmental teams managing this population.
- 01Cochrane systematic review evaluating vestibular stimulation interventions in preterm infants.
- 02Outcomes assessed include developmental milestones and morbidity (illness burden) in premature babies.
- 03Systematic reviews of this type sit at the top of the evidence hierarchy (Oxford CEBM level 1a).
- 04Findings could inform neonatal care protocols where audiologists and developmental specialists collaborate.
- 05No specific effect sizes or certainty ratings can be extracted from the title/abstract alone.
- PMID
- 42522859
- DOI
- 10.1002/14651858.CD016072.pub2.
- Journal
- Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
- Publication type
- systematic_review
- Evidence level
- 1a
- Population
- Preterm infants receiving neonatal care
- Intervention
- Vestibular stimulation (e.g., rocking, oscillation, or movement-based interventions)
- Comparator
- Standard care or no vestibular stimulation
Primary outcomes
Neurodevelopmental outcomes; Morbidity in preterm infants