Table of contents
September 2022 - Volume 107 - 5
Highlights from this issue
- Fantoms (18 August, 2022)
Review
- Neonatal and fetal therapy of congenital diaphragmatic hernia-related pulmonary hypertension (24 December, 2021)
This review looks at the current clinically available neonatal and fetal therapies targeting congenital diaphragmatic hernia and the associated pulmonary hypertension, and considers the most promising experimental treatments and future research.
Original research
- Two-year neurodevelopmental outcome in children born extremely preterm: the EPI-DAF study (2 March, 2022)
In a Dutch national cohort of infants born 24+0 to 26+6/7 weeks gestation born after changes to guidelines supporting active treatment at 24+0 weeks, the majority did not have neurodevelopmental impairment at 2-year follow up as defined in this study.
- Dual-site blood culture yield and time to positivity in neonatal late-onset sepsis (9 November, 2021)
Observational, single-centre study questioning the need to obtain both, peripheral and catheter-based, blood cultures in infants with suspected sepsis - the answer is yes, we need both if we do not want to miss a positive result in a significant proportion of infants.
- Impact of maternal obesity on neonatal heart rate and cardiac size (17 November, 2021)
This manuscript examines the impact of preconception maternal obesity on measures of cardiac size and function assessed by MRI. The authors compared ECG findings and cardiac MRI findings in infants delivered to normal BMI and obese women. They found a higher resting heart rate and lower LV end diastolic volume and stroke volumes in infants who were born to obese women. They speculate that these findings may be related to increased CV risk in offspring of obese mothers.
- Single versus continuous sustained inflations during chest compressions and physiological-based cord clamping in asystolic lambs (29 November, 2021)
In this study of resuscitation from asystole in newborn lambs there was no advantage to the use of continual sustained inflations as part of the cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) strategy. Some haemodynamic measures were improved when CPR was provided with the umbilical cord intact in comparison with CPR after cord clamping.
- Parental perspective on important health outcomes of extremely preterm infants (23 November, 2021)
Parents of extremely preterm born children undergoing follow up rated their children's health as 9/10. Parental priorities for health improvement were related to behaviour, emotional health and language communication, respiratory health and feeding/growth issues.
- Effect of prophylactic dextrose gel on the neonatal gut microbiome (2 December, 2021)
This observational study nested in an RCT of oral dextrose gel vs placebo to prevent hypoglycaemia in term infants, explores whether dextrose gel has an impact on the neonatal gut microbiome.
- Effects of tactile stimulation on spontaneous breathing during face mask ventilation (3 December, 2021)
Secondary data analysis suggesting that neonates have more spontaneous breaths after birth following cutaneous stimulation.
- Global incidence proportion of intraventricular haemorrhage of prematurity: a meta-analysis of studies published 2010–2020 (20 December, 2021)
This meta-analysis of studies reporting rates of IVH identified 38 studies (87,993 infants) reporting any IVH and 49 studies (328,562 infants) reporting severe IVH. There was substantial variability between studies, largely explained by differences in GA of enrolled infants.
- MRI-based brain volumes of preterm infants at term: a systematic review and meta-analysis (25 January, 2022)
Reference data for MRI determined brain volumes at term equivalent age in preterm infants
- Severe neonatal hyperbilirubinaemia: lessons learnt from a national perinatal audit (28 January, 2022)
National audit in Holland shows substandard care factors contribute to severe neonatal hyperbilirubinemia and chronic bilirubin encephalopathy
- Associations of body composition with regional brain volumes and white matter microstructure in very preterm infants (20 January, 2022)
This prospective observational study looks at the associations between body composition and brain development among very preterm infants at term equivalent age.
- Preliminary study of automated oxygen titration at birth for preterm infants (9 February, 2022)
Before-after trial of using automated oxygen control in the delivery room, showing similar results as with manual control (70 vs. 60%) for %time in target, and significantly less time spent in potential hyperoxaemia.
- Predictors of anastomotic strictures following œsophageal atresia repair (25 February, 2022)
Large study of all babies born with oesophageal atresia in France over an 8 year period with follow up to 1 year. Anastomotic stricture identified in 23% of cases with independent risk factors identified including one (delayed anastomosis) previously unreported.
- Lung volume distribution in preterm infants on non-invasive high-frequency ventilation (31 January, 2022)
Randomized crossover trial comparing electrical impedance tomography (EIT) data between nHFOV with nCPAP, showing increased and more homogenous lung aeration with nHFOV compared to nCPAP
- Saliva cortisol diurnal variation and stress responses in term and preterm infants (7 March, 2022)
Results from salivary cortisol concentrations of infants at 4 months of age suggests that extremely preterm birth disrupts the normative development of the HPA axis in infancy, with patterns of cortisol secretion resembling those seen after childhood adversity.
Short report
- Preterm birth and infant diurnal cortisol regulation (14 March, 2022)
PostScript
- Letter: Repeated intravenous cannula insertion attempts in neonates (6 September, 2021)
- Letter: Antenatal counselling of spina bifida: we need to do better (16 October, 2021)
Images in neonatal medicine
- Diagnosis of hydrocephalus by cranial transillumination (14 July, 2021)
- Functional 2:1 AV block in a preterm (5 May, 2021)