OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether a prolonged low-dose course of indomethacin would produce an improved closure rate and have fewer side effects compared with a short standard dosage schedule in the management of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in preterm infants. STUDY DESIGN: Sixty-one infants of gestational ages 24 to 32 weeks ...

OBJECTIVE: Although many studies in medical literature are comparing percutaneous trans-septal mitral commissurotomy (PTMC) and open mitral commissurotomy (OMC), very few long-term comparative follow-ups are available. METHODS: Between January 1991 and December 1997, 193 patients with isolated mitral stenosis were assigned either to PTMC (111 cases) or to OMC (82 ...

Transcranial Doppler of infants suffering hypoxia-ischemia may demonstrate high diastolic flow in the early postasphyxial and hyperemic phase of the insult. This increase in diastolic flow decreases the resistive index. The use of the resistive index to quickly assess the infant at the bedside may become more important with the ...

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: The development of chylothorax is a serious and often life-threatening clinical entity that may cause profound respiratory, nutritional, and immunologic complications and has become increasingly common in recent years. Optimal management of this problem has not been well defined because medical therapy has a significant failure rate. Surgical treatment ...

AIM: To describe the association between early postnatal prostacyclin concentrations in preterm infants; echocardiographic measurements of ductal diameter and ventricular output and clinical outcomes of intraventricular haemorrhage (IVH) and patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). METHODS: Forty nine preterm infants born before 30 weeks of gestational age (median birthweight 980 g, median ...

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to use gray-scale, color-flow, and duplex Doppler sonography to study the anatomy, flow pattern, and time of closure of the ductus venosus in healthy premature infants. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We prospectively examined the ductus venosus in 130 premature infants whom we divided into two groups: Group ...

Genelabs is developing oral dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), for the potential treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in women. Results of a second phase III study, due for completion in March 1999, will determine whether Genelabs files an NDA in the US. Because of the public domain nature of DHEA, Genelabs is ...

OBJECTIVE: We studied the ontogeny of the expression of cyclooxygenase-1 and cyclooxygenase-2 in the ductus arteriosus and evaluated their functional significance. STUDY DESIGN: The expression of cyclooxygenase-1 and cyclooxygenase-2 was studied in ductus arteriosus of fetal (at approximately 75% gestation) and term newborn pig. Effects of selective inhibitors of cyclooxygenase-1 ...

AIM: To assess ultrasonographically the flow pattern and the time of postnatal closure of ductus venosus in preterm infants < or = 32 weeks. METHODS: Thirty-three preterm infants < or = 32 weeks were studied within the first 1 to 5 days of life and followed every second day with ...

The pharmacokinetic parameters of vancomycin in a neonatal population have been characterized to enable development of optimum dosage guidelines for neonatal intensive-care units and to examine the relationship between these pharmacokinetic parameters and various demographic, developmental and clinical factors which might be associated with changes in the kinetic profile of ...

Postnatally, therapeutic indomethacin administration is usually effective in mediating patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) constriction in premature infants. There are infants, however, who remain resistant to indomethacin and require more aggressive surgical intervention to facilitate ductal closure. Indomethacin tocolysis has been reported to increase the incidence of persistent PDA in premature ...

To determine variations in neonatology practice regarding the diagnosis and management of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in premature infants. Standardized telephone interview of preferences and practices. Canadian neonatologists in active clinical practice. Of 136 eligible Canadian neonatologists, 100 respondents (74%) estimated the proportion of infants with suspected PDA who have ...

Despite indomethacin therapy, many premature infants require surgical closure of their patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). Between January 1985 and December 1997, 176 premature infants underwent surgical closure of PDA by vascular clip after failure of medical treatment. The median gestational age and birth weight were 26 weeks (range 23-36 weeks) ...

We evaluated the outcome of a combined medical and surgical treatment of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in newborns weighing less than 1500 g. Charts were retrospectively reviewed for 76 newborns with a PDA between 1993 and 1997. Thirteen infants had pre-existing conditions prohibiting the use of indomethacin; eight were managed ...

Many studies demonstrate the efficacy of closure of a patent ductus arteriosus with indomethacin, but also show that success diminishes markedly with increasing postnatal age. For this reason surgical ligation is usually preferred after the first month of life. We describe the case of a male premature infant (25 weeks ...

A low-birth-weight (LBW; 1,940 g) girl was born at the gestational age of 36 weeks without any perinatal insult. Transposition of the great arteries (TGA) with a large patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) and interatrial shunt was detected. Stage IIIB necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) developed 46 hours after birth. She received ileostomy ...

Twenty-one infants with isolated native coarctation of aorta (mean age 4.73 +/- 2.85 months, range 15 days-12 months) underwent balloon dilatation in the last seven years at our institute. Seven of them were less than three months and 14 were older than three months. The procedure was successful in relieving ...

PURPOSE: Laser physics dictate that maximal radiant exposure occurs when the laser strikes the target at a normal incidence. Since the renal collecting system often limits nephroscope movements during percutaneous nephrolithotomy, the laser-calculus incidence angle may vary. We have observed during holmium:YAG percutaneous nephrolithotomy that the side firing fiber more ...

E-type prostaglandins (PGE1) can effectively maintain the patency of the ductus arteriosus in neonates. Its use, therefore can be life saving in infants born with ductus dependent congenital heart disease. Although PGE1 is available for over two decades in western world, it has been introduced in India only since April, ...

We examined the association between antenatal indomethacin exposure and adverse neonatal outcome in a matched retrospective cohort study of infants born to 72 mothers at less than 31 weeks' gestation. Indomethacin-exposed mothers were matched to controls by gestational age at delivery, antenatal corticosteroid exposure, prolonged spontaneous rupture of membranes, multiple ...

BACKGROUND: Premature neonatal survival rates have increased significantly. The diagnosis of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) has also increased. In this paper, we present our experience of incidence, clinical features and outcome of the treatment of symptomatic PDA in very low birth weight infants. METHODS: From January 1990 to December 1995, ...

Age-related changes in left ventricular diastolic filling have been reported to occur in normal children in studies using Doppler echocardiographic methods. However, little information currently exists on the relationships between transmitral flow velocity patterns and the left ventricular mass. We measured left ventricular end-diastolic volume, left ventricular mass, mass/volume ratio, ...

This study is a retrospective analysis of the clinical data of 67 very low birth weight infants (VLBWI) with symptomatic patent ductus arteriosus (PDA); all were admitted to four neonatal intensive care units (NICU) from January 1, 1996 through December 31, 1996. The mean gestational age was 27.9 +/- 2.4 ...

Medically refracted patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in an extremely low birth weight (ELBW) preterm (gestation 24 weeks 2 days) infant was successfully ligated under general anesthesia in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Pharmacological agents are more effective to close PDA in preterm infants than in full-term infants, although within ...

The relation of rate-corrected mean velocity of fiber shortening (mVcfc)-end-systolic wall stress (ESS) is a load-independent index of left ventricular contractility, but involves simultaneous M-mode echocardiography, carotid or axillary pulse tracing and blood pressure determination, which may be impractical in younger infants. We examined whether the relation of the peak ...

OBJECTIVES: This report evaluates the use of Gianturco coils to close large patent ductus arteriosus (PDAs) (> or = 3.5 mm) and describes transvenous delivery of 0.052-in. (0.132-cm) Gianturco coils. BACKGROUND: Coil closure of PDAs has become increasingly popular. However, the technique has significant limitations when used to close large ...

Clinical and echocardiographic haemodynamic evaluations of response to volume expansion are described in 12 preterm neonates aged < 7 days presenting without cardiac dysfunction and with a low cardiac output. They received 10% albumin solution (20 ml kg-1) for 3 h. Measurements were made before infusion, at volumes 5, 12.5 ...

Patent urachus results when there is a persistence of an allantois remnant which normally undergoes atresia during embryological development. It can lead to an abdominal wall defect similar in appearance on ultrasound to an omphalocele. A 34-year-old primigravida presented at 19 weeks' gestation for evaluation of a cystic mass arising ...

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to 1) establish whether the atrial flutter (AFL) inducible acutely occurs spontaneously in a chronic canine model, and 2) characterize any reentrant circuits present chronically. BACKGROUND: We previously demonstrated, in an acute canine model of the modified Fontan operation, that the lateral tunnel suture line creates ...

OBJECTIVES: To study the incidence of chronic oxygen dependency (COD) among ventilated survivors born at 24-32 weeks gestation from 1986 to 1994 and to identify antenatal and neonatal factors that may have changed with time; and to identify antenatal and neonatal factors that could contribute to the development of COD ...

BACKGROUND: Ductus arteriosus constriction is a known complication of exposure to indomethacin in utero. Nonimmune hydrops associated with indomethacin use has been reported in only six cases, all twins over 32 weeks' gestation. CASE: We present a case of fetal hydrops associated with tricuspid regurgitation and ductal constriction developing within ...

OBJECTIVE: Recent reports have suggested that the use of indomethacin for tocolysis may independently increase the risk for major adverse neonatal events such as intraventricular hemorrhage and necrotizing enterocolitis. The objective of this study was to determine whether this potential risk of indomethacin is outweighed by the benefit of delivery ...

Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is recognised more often with increasing survival of preterm babies. The pharmacological closure of ductus by indomethacin has changed the management of PDA. Twenty neonates admitted over a period of 21 months to Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of M.S. Ramaiah Medical College hospital, Bangalore, who ...

Persistent patency of the ductus arteriosus (PDA), common in premature infants, is associated with severe respiratory distress. The likelihood and significance of finding PDA in premature infants beyond the second week of life is unknown. We retrospectively analyzed all echocardiograms obtained between 1987 and 1992 on infants <35 weeks' gestational ...

AIM: To assess ultrasonographically the flow pattern and the time of postnatal closure of ductus venosus related to the other fetal shunts. METHODS: Fifty healthy, term neonates were studied from day 1 up to day 18 using a VingMed CFM 800A ultrasound scanner. RESULTS: Ductus arteriosus was closed in 94% ...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the consequences of being small-for-gestational age at extremely low gestational age. METHODOLOGY: Comparison of two historical cohorts of small-for-gestational age (SGA) and appropriate-for-gestational age (AGA) infants born between 24 and 26 6/7 weeks of gestation (gestational age estimated by early ultrasound at 16 to 18 weeks). Data ...

To evaluate serial changes in left ventricular diastolic filling patterns in preterm infants, we performed echocardiographic examinations in 18 very-low-birth weight infants and 20 fullterm infants before and after the closure of the ductus arteriosus. In the fullterm infants, the ductal closure induced significant decreases in the peak velocity and ...

OBJECTIVE: To assess prenatal diagnosis by ultrasonography in five cases of fetal atrial septal aneurysm. STUDY DESIGN: Five cases of fetal atrial septal aneurysm were diagnosed prenatally by ultrasound. Postpartum fetal cardiac echocardiography was performed in three of five infants from the first to the fourth day of life. The ...

OBJECTIVES: A prospective study comparing the efficacy and side-effects of oral sulindac with intravenous indomethacin in clinically stable preterm infants (< 1750 g) requiring non-invasive closure of haemodynamically significant patent ductus arteriosus. METHODOLOGY: As maturity and birthweight are the two major determinants of ductal closure, infants were matched as closely ...

AIMS: To identify the patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) shunt flow pattern using Doppler echocardiography; and to assess whether it could be used to predict the development of clinically significant PDA. METHODS: Premature infants weighing under 1500 g, who required mechanical ventilation, and in whom daily echocardiography could be performed from ...

The aim of this study was to determine the prenatal fetal pyelectasis which requires postnatal evaluation. This was a retrospective analysis involving 65 infants with complete urological follow-up; 59 had shown prenatal evidence of pyelectasis using previously published standards. Males were more common in both the normal (75 per cent) ...

AIM: To compare the efficacy of hydrocortisone with dopamine for the treatment of hypotensive, very low birthweight (VLBW) infants. METHODS: Forty infants were randomly allocated to receive either hydrocortisone (n = 21) or dopamine (n = 19). RESULTS: All 19 infants randomised to dopamine responded; 17 of 21 (81%) did ...

Two hundred and ninety-one very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) infants were studied prospectively during the period of 1988-1993. All inborn VLBW infants and most of the VLBW infants born in Greater Stockholm and requiring neonatal intensive care were included in this study. The overall mortality was 17.5% and the mortality in the group ...

We report the case of a severely hypotonic and weak term newborn who required ventilatory support from the time of birth. Serial neurophysiologic studies were consistent with severe demyelinating polyneuropathy. The infant's condition deteriorated over several weeks despite treatment with corticosteroids and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) for presumed inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy. ...

We report our experience with the use of intra-amniotic thyroxine to accelerate fetal maturation in preterm delivered infants. One hundred and fourteen infants who had received 500 micrograms of thyroxine weekly prenatally until an L/S ratio greater or equal to 2.0 was achieved, were compared to 113 premature infants who ...

A previous study found that early intravenous indomethacin administration prolonged respiratory support in very low birth weight infants. We have, therefore, designed a randomized, double blind controlled study to evaluate the oxygenation, and surfactant requirements in preterm low birth weight infants receiving early indomethacin administration. Premature neonates who received surfactant ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine the efficacy and side-effects of prolonged low-dose indomethacin therapy in very low birthweight (VLBW; < 1500 g) infants with a haemodynamically significant patent ductus arteriosus (hsPDA). METHODOLOGY: Very low birthweight infants admitted over a 16 month period were studied (8 months, retrospectively and 10 months, prospectively). Cross-sectional ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine if tocolytic therapy with indomethacin is associated with an increased risk of neonatal complications in infants born prior to 32 weeks' gestation. STUDY DESIGN: We performed a retrospective matched cohort study of infants born between 24 and 31(6)/7 weeks' gestation. The 62 cases (indomethacin treatment) and the ...

OBJECTIVES: To assess the efficacy of Doppler echocardiography (DE) in the quantification of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) shunt volume and to correlate PDA shunt volume with clinical outcome in infants with hyaline membrane disease. METHODS: Ninety-eight DE studies were performed in 30 preterm ventilated infants with hyaline membrane disease within ...

Preterm infants undergoing surgical closure of patent ductus arteriosus are usually critically ill and are suffering from many concomitant diseases. The high risk of increased morbidity in transferring them from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to a distant operating room is generally recognized. For this reason we report our ...