The Journal of pediatrics
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The Journal of pediatrics · Apr 1988
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialNeed for endotracheal intubation and suction in meconium-stained neonates.
In a prospective study, we determined whether routine immediate tracheal aspiration at birth is necessary in meconium-stained but otherwise normal infants delivered vaginally and having a 1-minute Apgar score greater than 8. A total of 572 newborn infants who met these criteria were randomly allocated to one of two groups. ⋯ There was no mortality among infants in the study, but morbidity, mainly pulmonary and laryngeal disorders, occurred in six of 308 group I infants and in none of the group II infants (P less than 0.025). Immediate tracheal suction is not a harmless intervention, and should be considered superfluous in a vigorous term neonate born with meconium-stained amniotic fluid.
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Axial movement of the right hemidiaphragm during tidal breathing was recorded using real-time ultrasonography in 46 healthy term infants. Displacement was 2.6 +/- 0.1, 3.6 +/- 0.2, and 4.5 +/- 0.2 mm (mean +/- SEM) for the anterior, middle, and posterior thirds, respectively. Diaphragmatic movement was significantly greater in the middle and posterior segments than in the anterior segment (P less than 0.0001). ⋯ Diaphragmatic movement was also assessed in nine infants who required mechanical ventilation and pharmacologic paralysis because of respiratory disease. In these infants, axial movement of the right hemidiaphragm was less in the middle and posterior thirds (P less than 0.05 and P less than 0.01, respectively) than in spontaneously breathing infants, and posterior movement was not predominant. Normative data for axial diaphragmatic movement may be of clinical value in the assessment of defects of the diaphragm, rib cage, or abdomen in newborn infants and may allow further understanding of the direct effects of therapeutic interventions on the respiratory system in infancy.