Clinical and Thermal Evaluation and Microstructural Characterization of Silicone Gel Used in Newborns Submitted to Non-invasive Ventilation

摘要

This study aimed to evaluate the clinical efficiency and thermal and microstructural characterization of a silicone gel used as nasal protection in newborns (NB) submitted to non-invasive ventilation (NIV). The study was divided into two stages. In the first, a control case study was performed with 11 NBs hospitalized at the Neonatal intensive Care Units (NICUs) of a public hospital in the South of Brazil, who required NIV with nasal silicone gel protector. The stage of the injury and the need for replacing the nasal protector were evaluated daily until the suspension of NTV. In the second stage, a sample of silicone gel was aged in the neonatal incubator simulating the conditions of use, it was submitted to thermogravi-metric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the results were compared to a sample without aging. The incidence of the injury was 72.72%, being 75% of them of stage I, and 25% of stage II. The mean of detachment during use was 1.5 ± 1,07 times. As for the TGA, the silicone gel presented thermal stability up to 290 °C. Increased crystallinity and presence of microcracks were observed in the sample that had undergone aging. So, we concluded that the silicone gel is a little effective protector in the prevention of nasal injury in NB submitted to NTV.