The journal of maternal-fetal & neonatal medicine : the official journal of the European Association of Perinatal Medicine, the Federation of Asia and Oceania Perinatal Societies, the International Society of Perinatal Obstetricians
-
J. Matern. Fetal. Neonatal. Med. · Oct 2012
ReviewThromboelastography: might work in neonatology too?
To review the working principles of thromboelastography and evaluate the current knowledge about the possibility of its implementation in the neonatal intensive care unit setting. ⋯ The current knowledge is too limited to express a definitive indication on the reliability of the use of viscoelastic point of care analyzer in the neonatal intensive care unit setting. However, their potential use not only as a diagnostic tool, but also to guide the transfusion therapy requires careful consideration.
-
J. Matern. Fetal. Neonatal. Med. · Oct 2012
ReviewEarly onset sepsis in very low birth weight newborn infants.
Early onset sepsis (EOS) is a severe problem affecting very low birth weight (VLBW) infants and is associated with a threefold increased risk of mortality. Although advances in perinatal care have led to improved survival of VLBW infants over recent decades, survival without major neonatal morbidity has not increased. The authors reviewed the current literature on EOS, focusing on the peculiarities concerning risk factors, etiology, diagnosis, treatment and outcome in very low birth weight infants, and on the recent advances in the management of this condition.
-
J. Matern. Fetal. Neonatal. Med. · Oct 2012
Soluble CD14 subtype (sCD14-ST) presepsin in critically ill preterm newborns: preliminary reference ranges.
Soluble CD14 subtype (sCD14-ST), also named presepsin, is a 13 kDa truncated form of soluble CD14 (sCD14), consisting of 64 amino acid residues. Systemic inflammation and sepsis are characterized by an early, significant increase in sCD14-ST presepsin blood concentration and thus, this small polypeptide has been proposed as a novel, reliable biomarker for the management of sepsis. ⋯ The mean sCD14-ST presepsin blood level in 26 preterm newborns was 643.1 ng/L, with a standard deviation (SD) of 303.8 ng/L; the median value was 578 ng/L. Our results clearly suggest no correlation between GA and sCD14-ST presepsin blood level between 26 and 36 weeks and thus it is reasonable to adopt a unique reference range for preterm newborns.
-
J. Matern. Fetal. Neonatal. Med. · Oct 2012
Pain management during invasive procedures at Italian NICUs: has anything changed in the last 5 years?
To ascertain the extent to which neonatal analgesia for invasive procedures has changed in the last 5 years since the publication of Italian guidelines. ⋯ There have been improvements in neonatal analgesia practices in Italy since national guidelines were published, but pain is still undertreated and underscored, especially during major invasive procedures. It is mandatory to address the gap between the recommendations in the guidelines and clinical practice must be addressed through with effective quality improvement initiatives.