Vagal tone

Pediatrics

Quantum mechanics

Ground

Heart rate variability

Physics

Heart rate

Medicine

Neonatal intensive care unit

Anesthesia

Blood pressure

Internal medicine

Neonatology

&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;Background:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt; Low vagal tone (VT) is a marker of vulnerability to stress and the risk of developing necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm infants. Electric fields produced by equipment in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) induce an electric potential measurable on the skin in reference to ground. An electrical connection to ground reduces the skin potential and improves VT in adults. &lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;Objectives:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt; We aimed to measure the electric field strengths in the NICU environment and to determine if connecting an infant to electrical ground would reduce the skin potential and improve VT. We also wished to determine if the skin potential correlated with VT. &lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;Methods:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt; Environmental magnetic flux density (MFD) was measured in and around incubators. Electrical grounding (EG) was achieved with a patch electrode and wire that extended to a ground outlet. We measured the skin potential in 26 infants and heart rate ...

Electrical Grounding Improves Vagal Tone in Preterm Infants