Description:
<jats:p>Laser acupuncture (LA) becomes more and more relevant in neonates and infants. With near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), a continuous and noninvasive measurement of tissue oxygenation is possible. Aim was to investigate, whether the application of LA was associated with any changes in regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rcSO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>) in term and preterm neonates. The study included 20 neonates (12 males, 8 females). The Large Intestine 4 acupuncture point (LI 4,<jats:italic>Hegu</jats:italic>) was stimulated by a microlaser needle (10 mW, 685 nm laser needle EG GmbH, Germany) for 5 minutes, bilaterally. All neonates underwent polygraphic recording during undisturbed daytime sleep, including heart rate (HR), peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>), and measurement of nasal flow. Using NIRS, rcSO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>was measured continuously. Cerebral fractional tissue oxygen extraction (cFTOE) was calculated. We did not observe any significant changes in SpO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>and HR values during the whole observation period. However, there was a significant decrease in rcSO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>(<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M1"><mml:mi>P</mml:mi><mml:mo>=</mml:mo><mml:mn>0.003</mml:mn></mml:math>) within postintervention period, accompanied by a significant increase in cFTOE (<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M2"><mml:mi>P</mml:mi><mml:mo>=</mml:mo><mml:mn>0.010</mml:mn></mml:math>) in postintervention period.</jats:p>