Plasma concentrations of the stable endothelin-1 precursor, C-terminal portion of the endothelin-1 precursor, determined prospectively in 293 newborn infants (gestational age, 24-41 weeks) at birth and on day 3 of life were unrelated to gestational age at birth, but strongly associated with respiratory distress when measured on day 3 of ...

Objective:The study's objective was to compare hematocrit (Hct) levels at 36 to 48 h of age in term infants delivered by cesarean section exposed to immediate cord clamping or umbilical cord milking (UCM).Study Design:In this randomized controlled trial, 24 women scheduled for elective cesarean section were randomized to either immediate clamping ...

ObjectiveFree-radical-induced reperfusion injury has been recognised as an important cause of brain tissue damage after birth asphyxia. Allopurinol reduces the formation of free radicals, thereby potentially limiting the amount of hypoxia-reperfusion damage. In this study the long-term outcome of neonatal allopurinol treatment after birth asphyxia was examined.DesignFollow-up of 4 to ...

What does an infant remember about a forgotten object? Although at age 6 months, infants can keep track of up to three hidden objects, they can remember the featural identity of only one. When infants forget the identity of an object, do they forget the object entirely, or do they ...

To determine whether resuscitation of infants who failed to develop effective breathing at birth increases survivors with neurodevelopmental impairment. Infants unresponsive to stimulation who received bag and mask ventilation at birth in a resuscitation trial and infants who did not require any resuscitation were randomized to early neurodevelopmental intervention or ...

Objective:Following patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) ligation, preterm infants may develop profound hypotension and respiratory failure. Prophylactic stress hydrocortisone (HC) has emerged as a therapy to prevent complications, postulating these infants do not synthesize steroids because of an immature hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. The purpose of this study was to compare outcomes in ...

Abstract Aims: To explore the association between total serum bilirubin (TSB) level in umbilical cord blood (UCB) and the occurrence and/or severity of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. Methods: We performed a prospective study of 579 VLBW infants. The mean TSB level in UCB ...

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the number and causes of maternal deaths in Tunisia from 1999 to 2007, and compare the results with the last report (1993-1994). METHODS: Data on all deaths of women of reproductive age in the public (1999-2007) and private (2006 only) health sectors were collected and assessed for ...

OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of infants hospitalized at <6 months of age with 2009 influenza A infection. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective laboratory surveillance and discharge International Classification of Disease, 9th edition codes for influenza infection were used to identify all infants hospitalized at <6 months of age ...

Aim:  Management of haemodynamic instability in premature neonates and selection of inotropic therapy are protocol driven, and therapeutic choices lack scientific validation. The aim of this study was to characterise practices related to the management of haemodynamic instability in premature infants. Methods:  An electronic web-based questionnaire was emailed to all ...

Background/Objectives:To quantify the rate of progressive failure of very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) infants over time in the neonatal intensive care unit to meet growth milestones.Subjects/Methods:In a prospective longitudinal study, 114 VLBW preterm infants (1500 g) of both sexes, with normal and/or low weight for gestational age were included. At the start, weight, length, ...

Congenital heart disease (CHD) accounts for nearly one-third of all major congenital anomalies. CHD birth prevalence worldwide and over time is suggested to vary; however, a complete overview is missing. This systematic review included 114 papers, comprising a total study population of 24,091,867 live births with CHD identified in 164,396 ...

Objective. To investigate the relation of prior intracervical procedures with very preterm birth. Design. A population-based case-control study. Setting. The study was conducted in Australia between 2002 and 2004. Sample. 345 women having a medically indicated and 236 having a spontaneous singleton birth between 20 and 31 weeks of gestation ...

Purpose:To establish new cross-sectional reference values for the size of the lateral ventricles in a large cohort of neonates between 24 and 42 weeks' gestational age (GA) as well as longitudinal reference values for the follow-up of very preterm infants born at less than 30 weeks' gestation.Materials and Methods:Institutional review ...

OBJECTIVE: To describe the decision-making process and birth experience of ten women in Finland who had planned to have a home birth. METHOD: The data were collected by means of in-depth interviews in 2008 and were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: Several reasons led to a decision to give ...

ABSTRACT: ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Meconium abnormalities are characterized by a wide spectrum of severity, from the meconium plug syndrome to the complicated meconium ileus associated with cystic fibrosis. Meconium Related Ileus in absence of Cystic Fibrosis includes a combination of highly viscid meconium and poor intestinal motility, low grade obstruction, benign ...

Infants have been described as 'statistical learners' capable of extracting structure (such as words) from patterned input (such as language). Here, we investigated whether prior knowledge influences how infants track transitional probabilities in word segmentation tasks. Are infants biased by prior experience when engaging in sequential statistical learning? In a ...

Carrying objects requires coordination of manual action and locomotion. This study investigated spontaneous carrying in 24 walkers who were 13 months old and 26 crawlers who were 13 months old during 1-hr, naturalistic observations in the infants' homes. Carrying was more common in walkers, but crawlers also carried objects. Typically, ...

Hyperbilirubinaemia is common in the newborn period, and while the vast majority of babies are unaffected, significant neurological impairment remains a risk associated with extremely high levels of bilirubin. There is concern internationally that the number of babies affected by severe neonatal hyperbilirubinaemia may be increasing. This review describes the ...

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the safety, tolerance and preventive effect on atopic dermatitis of an experimental α-lactalbumin-enriched and symbiotic-supplemented infant formula. A total of ninety-seven non-breastfed term neonates were enrolled into a double-blind, multicentre, randomised controlled trial in which they received experimental (n 48) or ...

Aim:  The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence, risk factors and developmental outcomes of cerebellar haemorrhage in the extremely preterm infant. Methods:  Over a 4-year period from January 2004, all patients with cerebellar haemorrhage born at 24-27 weeks gestation or with a birthweight < 1000 g were identified from ...

A 32-week-gestation female was delivered emergently via caesarian section to a mother in premature labor due to placental abruption. On delivery, the neonate was noted to have sustained right upper and lower eyelid full-thickness lacerations extending from the medial canthal area with associated right upper and lower full-thickness canalicular lacerations. ...

PURPOSE: The caudal epidural space is a popular site for analgesia in pediatrics. High variation in blind needle placement is common during caudal epidurals, increasing the risk of intravascular and intrathecal spread. Knowledge of safe distances and angles for accessing the caudal epidural space in premature infants can improve the ...

BACKGROUND:: Gas cooking is a main source of indoor air pollutants, including nitrogen dioxide and particles. Because concerns are emerging for neurodevelopmental effects of air pollutants, we examined the relationship between indoor gas cooking during pregnancy and infant neurodevelopment. METHODS:: Pregnant mothers were recruited between 2004 and 2008 to a ...

BackgroundThe Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) has been implemented by WHO and Unicef with a view to protect, promote and support breast feeding. This paper aims to assess the influence of the BFHI on breastfeeding indicators in Brazil, using data from the 2nd Survey of Breastfeeding Prevalence, conducted in 2008.MethodsData on ...

Although significant advances have been made in perinatal care, retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) remains a serious complication in prematurely born individuals. There have been limited studies on ROP in Taiwan, and most of those existing reports are outdated. This retrospective study included 252 very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) infants admitted to the neonatal ...

Objective. Most cases of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) are sporadic, but outbreaks in hospital settings suggest an infectious cause. Our neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) experienced an outbreak of methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA). We aimed to assess whether the enhancement of infection prevention and control measures would be associated with a reduction ...

In neuroblastoma (NB), the presence of segmental chromosome alterations (SCAs) is associated with a higher risk of relapse. In order to analyse the role of SCAs in infants with localised unresectable/disseminated NB without MYCN amplification, we have performed an array CGH analysis of tumours from infants enrolled in the prospective ...

Objective:We hypothesized that neonates with bloody stools and concomitant eosinophilia are likely to have atopic enteropathy rather than necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC).Study Design:This was a retrospective cross-sectional study using electronic medical records and paper charts. Records of neonates admitted to any Intermountain Healthcare NICU between 1 January 2005 and 30 June ...

ABSTRACT Objective: Seasonality of preterm birth has been noted, although not conclusively studied. Weather is also thought to play a role. We sought preterm birth seasonality and additionally studied the effect of weather parameters in the preterm birth pattern. Methods: Vital statistics from the Hellenic Statistical Authority were retrieved, covering ...

Objective:Six million stillbirths (SB) and early neonatal deaths (END) occur annually worldwide, mostly in rural settings distant from health facilities. We used verbal autopsy (VA), to understand causes of non-hospital, community-based SB and END from four low-income countries.Study Design:This prospective observational study utilized the train-the-trainer method. VA interviewers conducted standardized ...

Background. Mothers often are the source of pertussis illness in young infants. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend tetanus and diphtheria toxoids and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine for postpartum women before hospital discharge. In January 2008, this recommendation was implemented in a predominantly Hispanic, medically underserved population at Ben ...

Background: Preterm infants with progressive post-hemorrhagic ventricular dilatation (PHVD) in the absence of associated parenchymal lesions may have a normal neurodevelopmental outcome. Objectives: To evaluate neurodevelopmental and cognitive outcomes among preterm infants with severe intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) and PHVD requiring neurosurgical intervention. Methods: 32 preterm infants were admitted to a ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Randomized controlled trials have shown that treatment of chronically ventilated preterm infants after the first week of life with dexamethasone reduces the incidence of the combined outcome death or bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). However, there are concerns that dexamethasone may increase the risk of adverse neurodevelopmental outcome. Hydrocortisone has ...

BACKGROUND: Differences in appetitive traits such as food-cue or satiety responsiveness have been hypothesized to contribute to variability in weight gain. However, existing data were largely cross-sectional and could not exclude the possibility that differences in appetitive traits were consequences of differences in weight. OBJECTIVE: We tested whether prospective associations ...

BACKGROUND: It has been hypothesised that inflammatory reactions could play an important role in the pathway(s) leading to sudden and unexpected death in infancy. On a molecular level, these reactions are regulated by various cytokines. METHODS: To characterise the role of IL-1ß, IL-6 and TNFα more precisely, the concentrations of ...

Abstract These were male infants of a size consistent with the estimated gestational age of 31 weeks. The mother of the twins was a 27 year-old G4P3 woman with limited prenatal care who presented for cesarean delivery. Resuscitation efforts were initiated and continued until the infants became asystolic. Postmortem radiographs ...

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Despite immunoprophylaxis, mother to child transmission (MTCT) of hepatitis B virus (HBV) still occurs in infants born to HB surface antigen (HBsAg)+ mothers. We analyzed methods of risk assessment and interventions for MTCT. METHOD: We reviewed 63 articles and abstracts published from 1975 to 2011 that were ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Bacterial vaginosis increases the risk of spontaneous preterm delivery at less than 34 weeks of gestation. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of the early administration of selected probiotics to pregnant women with asymptomatic bacterial vaginosis/intermediate-degree infection to prevent spontaneous premature delivery and associated neonatal morbidity. METHODS: Asymptomatic pregnant ...

Standard pharmacologic closure of the patent ductus arteriosus currently involves the administration of 1 of 2 cyclooxygenase inhibitors: either indomethacin or ibuprofen. However, both of these drugs can be associated with potentially significant adverse effects. We present here the cases of 5 preterm infants (gestational age: 26-32 weeks; postnatal age: ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Rapid weight gain in infancy is an important predictor of obesity in later childhood. Our aim was to determine which modifiable variables are associated with rapid weight gain in early life. METHODS: Subjects were healthy infants enrolled in NOURISH, a randomised, controlled trial evaluating an intervention to promote ...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether using a respiratory function monitor (RFM) during mask resuscitation of preterm infants reduces face mask leak and improves tidal volume (V(T)). STUDY DESIGN: Infants receiving mask resuscitation were randomized to have the display of an RFM (airway pressure, flow, and V(T) waves) either visible or masked. ...

The authors aimed to identify factors associated with exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) among 117 Peruvian mothers planning to breastfeed exclusively. Data were collected on days 0 and 3, and months 1, 3, and 6. Exclusive breastfeeding status was evaluated with a 24-hour recall of infant diet. Exclusive breastfeeding rates were 74%, ...

To compare Alberta Infant Motor Scale scores for Brazilian infants with the Canadian norm and to construct sex-specific reference curves and percentiles for motor development for a Brazilian population. This study recruited 795 children aged 0 to 18 months from a number of different towns in Brazil. Infants were assessed ...

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Intestinal flora of preterms, dominantly presents with decreased amounts of physiological microbiota. This double blinded randomized control trial compared the stool of bottle fed preterms, randomized to receive lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) 6x109or placebo with formula feeding. STUDY DESIGN: 46 enterally fed preterms were randomized to receive ...

OBJECTIVES:: To generate a preliminary bedside predictor of rapid time-to-death after withdrawal of support in children to help identify potential candidates for organ donation after circulatory death. DESIGN:: Retrospective chart review. SETTING:: Pediatric intensive care unit of an academic children's hospital. PATIENTS:: All deaths in the pediatric intensive care unit ...

OBJECTIVE: To examine associations between brain white matter abnormalities, including diffuse excessive high signal intensities, detected on neonatal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with neurodevelopmental outcome at age 30 months. STUDY DESIGN: This was a prospective, population-based study of infants born at <27 weeks gestation (n=117) undergoing conventional MRI at term ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is a severe congenital anomaly of the diaphragm resulting in pulmonary hypoplasia and pulmonary hypertension. It is associated with a high risk of mortality and pulmonary morbidity. Previous retrospective studies have reported high frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFO) to reduce pulmonary morbidity in infants with ...

OBJECTIVE: Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) and premature birth are stressful and difficult experiences for women. No research to date has examined the impact of ART on mother-child relationship in instances of preterm delivery. This study explored the psychological status of preterm infants' ART-mothers and the quality of mother-infant dyadic interaction, ...

Background:  To report the incidence of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in a subgroup of extremely premature infants admitted to an Australian tertiary centre over an 18 year period. Design:  Retrospective study. Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Participants:  554 infants admitted between 23 and 25.6 weeks GA. ...