Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Successful extubation of newborn infants without preextubation trial of continuous positive airway pressure.
Sixty newborn infants who had been mechanically ventilated through 3.0- or 3.5-mm endotracheal tubes were studied to examine the necessity of a preextubation trial of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). Thirty randomly assigned study infants were directly extubated from intermittent mandatory ventilation rates of six per minute; 30 randomly assigned control infants were extubated after a six-hour trial of continuous positive airway pressure of 3 cm H2O. Changes in respiratory rate, in PCO2, and in PO2/FIO2 were similar. ⋯ Five control and no study infants had apneic episodes greater than or equal to 0.5 per hour (chi 2 = 5.5, P less than .02). The results of this study suggest that newborn infants may tolerate direct extubation from low intermittent mandatory ventilation rates without a preextubation trial of CPAP. A preextubation trial of CPAP appears to be unnecessary and may cause more frequent apnea in newborn infants if used for more than several hours.
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We report the successful use of continuous negative pressure (CNP) with standard intermittent mandatory ventilation (IMV) in five patients suffering from respiratory failure and persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN). These infants all fulfilled criteria for use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) with PaO2 less than 40 torr, alveolar-arterial oxygen difference (AaDO2) greater than 620 mm Hg, and oxygenation index (OI) greater than 50. Despite a considerable amount of conventional ventilation with mean airway pressures (PAW) between 14 and 26 cm water, none of these patients were able to improve oxygenation. ⋯ Oxygenation dramatically improved in all infants. All five patients survived without any pulmonary or neurological complications at discharge. Availability of CNP may circumvent the need for ECMO in infants with severe lung disease and PPHN.
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Intrauterine intussusception has been implicated as a potential cause of intestinal atresia but has not been associated previously with nonimmune hydrops fetalis. We report a patient with a significant family history of intussuception who had intrauterine intussusception associated with nonimmune hydrops fetalis.
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Health care professionals strive to meet the needs of patients and families in a holistic approach. With the death of a newborn, many challenges arise that cause health care professionals to question their abilities to provide adequate grief support. ⋯ This article evaluates several aspects of a hospital-based bereavement follow-up program by comparing its first year and a subsequent year. Establishing a bereavement program and outlining responsibilities for staff involvement are also addressed.