MONDAY, Nov. 28 (HealthDay News) -- Infants who have immunizations in the afternoon, or have an increased temperature in response to vaccines, have increased sleep duration after immunization, according to a study published online Nov. 28 in Pediatrics.
Linda Franck, R.N., Ph.D., from the University of California in San Francisco, and colleagues investigated whether sleep duration in infants after immunization was affected by acetaminophen and axillary temperature responses. Sleep durations for 70 infants were monitored for 24 hours, before and after the first immunization series at approximately 2 months of age. Standard care instructions from the infant health care provider were given to mothers of control infants. Mothers of infants in the intervention group were instructed to administer pre-dosed acetaminophen at 30 minutes before and every four hours after immunization (total five doses). Alterations in infant sleep times after immunization were assessed, after controlling for infant age, birth weight, and immunization factors (acetaminophen use and time of administration).
The investigators found that infants slept more during the first 24 hours after immunization, particularly those who received their immunization after 1:30 p.m., and those who had increased temperatures due to the vaccine. Smaller increases in sleep duration were observed among infants who received acetaminophen at or after immunization compared with those who did not receive acetaminophen. However, after controlling for other factors, acetaminophen was not a significant predictor of infant sleep duration.
"Given the importance of sleep for a healthy immune response, our findings suggest that the time of day of vaccine administration and sleep duration after immunization are important variables to consider," the authors write.
Abstract
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