Neonatology
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Review Meta Analysis
Probiotics reduce the risk of necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm infants: a meta-analysis.
Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is the most common serious acquired disease of the gastrointestinal tract in preterm infants. Probiotic bacteria are live microbial supplements that colonize the gastrointestinal tract and potentially provide benefit to the host. ⋯ Enteral supplementation of probiotics reduces the risk of severe NEC and mortality in preterm infants. A large randomized controlled trial is required to investigate the benefit and safety profile of probiotics supplementation in ELBW infants.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Use of procalcitonin-guided decision-making to shorten antibiotic therapy in suspected neonatal early-onset sepsis: prospective randomized intervention trial.
Diagnosis of neonatal early-onset sepsis is difficult because clinical signs and laboratory tests are non-specific. Early antibiotic therapy is crucial for treatment success. ⋯ Serial PCT determinations allow to shorten the duration of antibiotic therapy in term and near-term infants with suspected early-onset sepsis. Before this PCT-guided strategy can be recommended, its safety has to be confirmed in a larger cohort of neonates.
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The amplitude-integrated EEG (aEEG) is feasible for monitoring cerebral activity in preterm infants. However, quantitative data on normal patterns in these infants are limited. ⋯ To our knowledge, this is the first study where aEEG development was studied by automated quantification of aEEG characteristics in a cohort of stable preterm infants with a normal neurological development at 1 year of age. LMA and DC-% are simple quantitative measures of neurophysiologic development and may be used to evaluate neurodevelopment in infants.
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Comparative Study
Neurally adjusted ventilatory assist and pressure support ventilation in small species and the impact of instrumental dead space.
Neurally adjusted ventilatory assist (NAVA) is a pneumatically-independent mode of mechanical ventilation controlled by diaphragm electrical activity (EAdi), and has not yet been implemented in very small species. ⋯ This study demonstrates, in a small group of animals, that NAVA can deliver assist in very small species with a higher efficiency than PSV in terms of eliminating CO(2) for a given minute ventilation.
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Comparative Study
Efficacy of oral sucrose in infants of methadone-maintained mothers.
One report indicated that taste-induced analgesia was sub-optimal in methadone-exposed (ME) infants. ⋯ This study found no differences in the pain responses of ME infants and non-exposed infants when given sucrose during heel lance procedures.