0000000000040237
AUTHOR
Francesco Bonsante
Neonatal problems of late and moderate preterm infants.
International audience; Late and moderate preterm infants account for \textgreater80% of premature births. These newborns experience considerable mortality and morbidity in comparison with full-term born infants. The purpose of this paper is to summarise the most common morbidities of late and moderate preterm infants in the neonatal period, their incidence, severity, risk factors and need for admission to the different levels of care. The recent findings on preventive strategies and management priorities for clinical care of these vulnerable babies are also reviewed.
La “Donna di Ostuni”, a case of eclampsia 28,000 years ago?
La "Donna di Ostuni", the Lady from Ostuni (fortified medieval city, on the southern Italian Adriatic coast) is the skeleton of "the human most ancient mother" ever found by paleoanthropologists, grave dated of 28,000 years BP. It concerns a 20-years-old woman buried with her baby in her womb estimated at 8 months gestation. To date, the cause of the maternal-fetal deaths is qualified of unknown origin. We propose that eclampsia may be a possible explanation for these deaths (mother and baby together). Eclampsia (convulsions), the curse of human births (non-existent in other mammals), has been described since writings has existed 5000 years ago in all civilisations. This plausible descripti…
Total plasma protein in very preterm babies: prognostic value and comparison with illness severity scores
International audience; OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate the predictive value for severe adverse outcome of plasma protein measurements on day one of life in very preterm infants and to compare total plasma protein levels with the validated illness severity scores CRIB, CRIB-II, SNAP-II and SNAPPE-II, regarding their predictive ability for severe adverse outcome. METHODS: We analyzed a cohort of infants born at 24-31 weeks gestation, admitted to the tertiary intensive care unit of a university hospital over 10.5 years. The outcome measure was "severe adverse outcome" defined as death before discharge or severe neurological injury on cranial ultrasound. The adjusted odd ratio (aOR) and 95%…
Hypoproteinemia on the first day of life and adverse outcome in very preterm infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit
International audience; OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate the relationship between day-1 hypoproteinemia and severe adverse outcome (SAO) in very preterm infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective study of all patients born from 24 to 31 weeks gestation and cared for in our NICU over an 8-year period. Infants were excluded if the serum protein value on the first day of life was not available. RESULT: A total of 913 patients were included. In all, 14.6% presented with SAO (death or severe neurological injury on cranial ultrasound). Hypoproteinemia (total protein level \textless40 g l(-1)) on day 1 of life occurred in 19.5 % of all patients. The …
Successful control of a Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus outbreak in a neonatal intensive care unit: a retrospective, before-after study
International audience; Background : Aim of this study was to provide a detailed description of a Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) outbreak management strategy in the neonatal intensive care unit of a university hospital.MethodsThis was a retrospective, “before-after” study, over two consecutive 18-month periods. The outbreak management strategy was performed by a multidisciplinary team and included: extensive healthcare workers (HCW) involvement, education, continuous hand-hygiene training and active MRSA colonization surveillance. The actions implemented were identified based on an anonymous, voluntary, reporting system, carried out among all the HCW, and regular audit a…
Routine Probiotic Use in Very Preterm Infants: Retrospective Comparison of Two Cohorts
International audience; OBJECTIVE: Evidence supports the efficacy of probiotics in reducing necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in very low-birth-weight infants, although concerns remain with regard to their routine use. Since 2008 in our neonatal intensive care unit, a low dose of probiotics (unique strain) is administered as standard of care in all preterm babies born at 24 to 31 weeks' gestation. This study reports outcomes in infants receiving probiotic cohort (PC) compared with the historical cohort. DESIGN: Treatment with Lactobacillus rhamnosus Lcr35 (Lcr Restituo) (2 × 108 colony-forming units/12 h) was started early after birth and intention to treat was up to 36 weeks' gestation. The …