Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Early high-frequency oscillatory ventilation versus synchronized intermittent mandatory ventilation in very low birth weight infants: a pilot study of two ventilation protocols.
To evaluate the feasibility of conducting a prospective, randomized trial comparing early high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) to synchronized intermittent mandatory ventilation (SIMV) in very low birth weight (VLBW) premature infants. This pilot study evaluated two ventilator management protocols to determine how well they could be implemented in a multicenter clinical trial. Although this pilot study was not powered to detect differences in outcome, we also collected outcome data. ⋯ The preliminary outcome data supports conducting the large randomized trial, which began in July of 1998. The protocols for the ventilator management of VLBW infants, both with HFOV and with SIMV were easily implemented and consistently followed, and are presented here.
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Nosocomial infections with coagulase negative staphylococcus (CoNS) are a frequent and significant cause of morbidity in the preterm infant. Infections diagnosed after the first 72 hours of life are arbitrarily deemed to be "nosocomial." There are many difficulties encountered in efforts to evaluate and compare nosocomial sepsis in the NICU. ⋯ Based on the frequency of positive blood cultures in infants less than 1000 g, it appears reasonable to evaluate methods for the prevention of nosocomial sepsis. These include prophylactic antibiotic administration, antiseptic impregnated catheters, and the use of an antibiotic lock technique.
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Epidural placement for labor in the general population of laboring women is associated with increased incidence of operative deliveries, prolongation of labor, and may be associated with an increased cesarean section rate. The risks and benefits associated with epidural placement for labor in the subpopulation of mothers at high risk for cesarean section have not been studied. ⋯ There is a sizable subpopulation of women at high risk for cesarean section whose babies may have better outcomes with epidural placement with no sacrifice in maternal outcomes or costs.
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The use of both warmer beds and incubators is common in neonatal intensive care units (NICU), and transferring between these two warming devices is a routine and necessary event. This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of a new hybrid-warming device, the Versalet, in transitioning a preterm animal from a warmer bed to an incubator mode and back. ⋯ Compared with the standard warming technique used in NICUs (separate warmer bed and incubator), the Versalet provides similar thermal and cardiovascular stability without adverse events during transition to different modes of warming. The degree to which this device would contribute to ease of management and improved outcomes in humans needs to be evaluated in a clinical trial.
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Review
A critical review of cost reduction in neonatal intensive care. II. Strategies for reduction.
Neonatal intensive care is extremely expensive; there is both a financial and an ethical obligation to practice efficiently. In the current era of intense cost containment in hospital care, neonatologists and hospital administrators are under pressure to find strategies for cost reduction for neonatal services. In this review, we address reducing discretionary admissions, the high costs of low-cost testing, minimizing use of selected high-cost technologies (ventilators and parenteral nutrition), shortening length of stay, and optimizing nursing allocation.