Neonatal Intensive Care News and Research

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Clinics with comprehensive care for premature infants alleviate concerns for parents

On January 24, 2013, Iris Vega-Figueroa's life changed completely. That's the day she gave birth to her twin girls, Iris and Geraldine. The twins were monoamniotic-monochorionic, meaning they shared one amniotic sack and one placenta in the womb. These rare pregnancies are considered high risk because of the uneven blood flow that occurs between the infants through the placenta.

8 Aug 2016

Disordered airway microbiome at birth may be linked to severe neonatal lung disease

In contrast to the general belief that the airways of an infant are sterile until after birth, University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers and colleagues have found that the infant airway is already colonized with bacteria or bacterial DNA when a baby is born -- and this is true for infants born as early as 24 weeks gestation.

5 Aug 2016

Pre-term infants fed with breast milk have better IQs, working memory and motor function, study shows

A new study, which followed 180 pre-term infants from birth to age seven, found that babies who were fed more breast milk within the first 28 days of life had had larger volumes of certain regions of the brain at term equivalent and had better IQs, academic achievement, working memory, and motor function.

29 Jul 2016

Preventing sudden unexpected deaths of babies and children: an interview with Professor Peter Fleming

SIDS is the sudden and unexpected death of a baby, which usually occurs during sleep. The great majority of the babies are aged between about two weeks and seven or eight months.

18 Jul 2016

Smartphone app may increase discharge preparedness for parents of VLBW infants

A smartphone app specifically designed to support parents of very low birth weight (VLBW) premature infants as they transition home from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) may increase parenting self-efficacy and discharge preparedness, according to a pilot randomized controlled trial at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago that was published in the journal Internet Interventions.

24 Jun 2016

Infection prevention bundles effective for reducing CLABSIs in critical care newborns

Infection prevention bundles, a package of evidence-based guidelines implemented in unison, are effective for reducing central line-associated blood stream infections (CLABSI) in critical care newborn infants, according to a new study published today in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

15 Jun 2016

Use of next-generation gene sequencing in NICUs may improve diagnosis of rare diseases

The use of next-generation gene sequencing in newborns in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) may improve the diagnosis of rare diseases and deliver results more quickly to anxious families, according to new research in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

30 May 2016

National Cancer Moonshot initiative needs to target proteins that drive cancer

The National Cancer Moonshot initiative needs to move beyond genomics to target the proteins that are driving cancer, according to an Inova Health System and George Mason University collaborative paper published Thursday in the American Association for Cancer Research.

24 May 2016

Studies explore possible link between pediatric cancer and light therapy for newborn jaundice

Two new studies raise enough questions about a possible link between childhood cancer and light therapy for newborn jaundice that clinicians should exercise caution in prescribing the treatment for infants whose jaundice is likely to resolve on its own, a pediatric oncologist from Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center argues in an editorial published today by the journal Pediatrics.

23 May 2016

New lab blood test may help identify HELLP syndrome in pregnant women

A laboratory blood test developed at Johns Hopkins for the diagnosis of a rare genetic red blood cell disorder also shows promise in identifying HELLP syndrome, a life-threatening high blood pressure condition affecting 1 percent of all pregnant women that causes hypertension along with end organ damage, researchers report in the May issue of the journal Experimental Hematology.

19 May 2016

Innovative technology in NICU can predict risk of major infections in premature or critically ill babies

A new technology in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at UC San Diego Health is able to predict the risk of life-threatening infections up to 24 hours before they appear in severely premature or critically ill infants. Infection is the leading cause of death in this fragile patient population.

11 May 2016

Feeding breast milk during first month of life may spur brain growth in preterm infants

Feeding premature babies mostly breast milk during the first month of life appears to spur more robust brain growth, compared with babies given little or no breast milk.

30 Apr 2016

Acid suppression drugs frequently prescribed for high-risk newborns, study shows

Since 2006, several published studies have associated the use of some acid suppression medications in hospitalized high-risk babies with infections, necrotizing enterocolitis and increased risk of death. Those medications - histamine-2 receptor antagonists, such as ranitidine (Zantac and others), and proton pump inhibitors, such as esomeprazole (Nexium and others) - were originally approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in adults and older children.

27 Apr 2016

Researchers propose new method for diagnosis of bacterial infection in preterm infants

A research group led by Kobe University Professor MORIOKA Ichiro (Graduate School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics), Associate Professor OSAWA Kayo (Graduate School of Health Sciences, Department of Biophysics), and Clinical Technologist SATO Itsuko (Kobe University Hospital, Department of Clinical Laboratory) is proposing a new criterion for diagnosis of bacterial infection in preterm infants.

2 Apr 2016

Simple tips to help parents and children lead a healthy life

Obesity is almost at epidemic proportions; it has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the past 30 years nationwide. Rosa Cataldo, DO, MPH, Director of the Healthy Weight & Wellness Center at Stony Brook Children's Hospital, says that the most effective approach to addressing weight loss in children are lifestyle-based modifications that involve parents.

26 Mar 2016

Researchers examine effects of family-centred neonatal discharge planning process

Researchers from the University of Bristol have found new parents benefit from help to prepare them to bring their premature babies home from hospital.

14 Mar 2016

Gut microbial imbalance appears to be underlying cause of fatal intestinal illness in premature babies

An imbalance of certain gut microbes appears to be the underlying cause of a frequently fatal intestinal illness in premature babies, according to new research led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis

9 Mar 2016

Steroid use in late preterm delivery can reduce rate of neonatal respiratory complications

Current recommendations are for all women who go into labor prior to 34 weeks gestation to be given antenatal corticosteroids (betamethasone) to help mature the baby's lungs. However, many babies born in the late preterm period - between 34 and 36 weeks gestation - require respiratory support at birth.

4 Mar 2016

Severe anemia associated with increased risk for necrotizing enterocolitis in premature infants

A study from Emory University School of Medicine published in the Journal of the American Medical Association has found that severe anemia, but not red blood cell transfusions (RBC), is associated with an increased risk for a potentially fatal intestinal condition in premature infants.

2 Mar 2016

Study demonstrating link between anal cancer and HPV infection published in Obstetrics & Gynecology

Researchers at Women & Infants Hospital, a Care New England hospital, recently published the results of a study demonstrating a connection between anal cancer and human papillomavirus (HPV) infection.

18 Feb 2016