Table 1.

Characteristics of the included studies

Author	Country	Target population	Emollient	Dose and frequency	Follow up
Arora 2005 [14]	India	Neonates <37 weeks and <1500 g	Sunflower oil	4 times a day (10ml/kg/day)	28 days
Darmstadt 2004 [20]	Egypt	Neonates <34 weeks and <72hr old. Gestational age was determined with an average of gestational age values by last menstrual period, per the criteria of Ballard and Dubowitz	Sunflower oil	3 times a day for 14 days and then 2 times a day (12g/kg/day)	28 days
Darmstadt 2005 [11]	Bangladesh	Neonates <33 weeks and <72hr old. Gestational age was identified by doctors, according to the methods described by Dubowitz and Ballard, and on the basis of maternal dates (time from the first day of the last menstrual period); the average of the three measures was used	A. Sunflower seed oil B. Aquaphor	3 times a day for 14 days and then 2 times a day (12g/kg/day)	28 days or until discharge if <28 days
Darmstadt 2008 [21]	Bangladesh	Neonates <33 weeks and <72hr old. Gestational age was identified by doctors, according to the methods described by Dubowitz and Ballard, and on the basis of maternal dates (time from the first day of the last menstrual period); the average of the three measures was used	A. Sunflower seed oil B. Aquaphor	3 times a day for 14 days and then 2 times a day (12g/kg/day)	28 days or until discharge if <28 days
Kumar 2012 [24]	India	Neonates <35 weeks and <1800 g	Sunflower oil	10ml/kg/day	28 days
Salam (Unpublished) [25]	Pakistan	Neonates ≥26 weeks and ≤37 weeks with a birth weight >750g. Gestational age estimated from ultrasound records and Ballard scores at admission	Coconut oil	2 times a day (10 ml/kg/day)	28 days
Sankaranarayanan 2005 [22]	India	Preterm (1500 to 2000g) and term (>2500g)	A. Coconut oil B. Mineral oil	4 times a day	31 days
Soriano 2000 [23]	Brazil	Neonates 28-34 weeks and <1700 g	Soybean oil	3 times a day (12g/kg/day)	30 days