Associations of geographic-based socioeconomic factors and HPV vaccination among male and female children in five US states.

Background: We assessed whether five geographic-based socioeconomic factors (medically underserved area (MUA); healthcare provider shortage area (HPSA); persistent poverty; persistent child poverty; and social vulnerability index (SVI)) were associated with the odds of HPV vaccination initiation, series completion, and parental vaccine hesitancy, and whether the observed relationships varied by gender of the child.

Methods: An online panel service, administered through Qualtrics®, was used to recruit parents of adolescents 9-17 years of age to complete a one-time survey in 2021. Coverage of the panel included five US states: Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, and Southern Illinois.

The association of caregiver attitudes, information sources, and trust with HPV vaccine initiation among adolescents.

This study described caregiver attitudes and the information sources they access about HPV vaccination for adolescents and determined their influence on human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination initiation. An online survey was administered to 1,016 adults in July 2021. Participants were eligible if they were the caregiver of a child aged 9-17 residing in Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, and select counties in Southern Illinois.

A Community Hospital NICU Developmental Care Partner Program: Feasibility and Association With Decreased Nurse Burnout Without Increased Infant Infection Rates.

Background: Volunteers can provide staff-directed sensory inputs to infants hospitalized in the NICU, but research on volunteer programs is limited.

Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility of a developmental care partner (DCP) program in a level III NICU and determine its relationship with provider burnout and infant infection rates.

Methods: DCPs were trained to provide sensory input to infants, based on the behavioral cues observed by the occupational therapists and nursing staff, in medically stable infants.

Central versus Low-Lying Umbilical Venous Catheters: A Multicenter Study of Practices and Complications.

Objectives: Conventional neonatology practice is to place umbilical venous catheters (UVCs) in central position and to limit the use of low-lying catheters. Our objectives were to describe the practices and complications associated with UVCs and to evaluate the type of infusates used with either UVC position.

Study Design: A retrospective chart review was performed at four neonatal intensive care units to identify neonates who underwent UVC placement over a 2-year period.

Neuroimaging in the evaluation of neonatal encephalopathy.

Background And Objective: Computed tomography (CT) is still used for neuroimaging of infants with known or suspected neurologic disorders. Alternative neuroimaging options that do not expose the immature brain to radiation include MRI and cranial ultrasound. We aim to characterize and compare the use and findings of neuroimaging modalities, especially CT, in infants with neonatal encephalopathy.

Histopathologic correlation with diffusion tensor imaging after chronic hypoxia in the immature ferret.

Introduction: Chronic hypoxia in rodents induces white matter (WM) injury similar to that in human preterm infants. We used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and immunohistochemistry to study the impact of hypoxia in the immature ferret at two developmental time points relevant to the preterm and term brain.

Results: On ex vivo imaging, the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) was decreased throughout the WM after 10 days of hypoxia (hypoxia from postnatal day 10 (P10) to P20 and killed at P20 (early hypoxia P20)), corresponding to increased astrocytosis and decreased myelination.

Sodium bicarbonate administration and outcome in preterm infants.

The short-term outcomes of sodium bicarbonate therapy in preterm infants were investigated by retrospective analysis of 165 of 984 infants who received sodium bicarbonate. The infants treated with sodium bicarbonate were more immature and had greater severity of illness and more adverse outcomes. Sodium bicarbonate therapy did not improve the blood pH.

Sodium intake and intraventricular hemorrhage in the preterm infant.

Objective: Hypernatremia is associated with intracranial hemorrhage in term infants. The etiology of intraventricular hemorrhage in preterm infants is multifactorial. We aimed to characterize the associations between sodium intake, hypernatremia, and intraventricular hemorrhage in preterm infants.

Characterization of brain development in the ferret via MRI.

Animal models with complex cortical development are useful for improving our understanding of the wide spectrum of neurodevelopmental challenges facing human preterm infants. MRI techniques can define both cerebral injury and alterations in cerebral development with translation between animal models and the human infant. We hypothesized that the immature ferret would display a similar sequence of brain development [both gray (GM) and white matter (WM)] to that of the preterm human infant.

Evaluation and management of stroke in the neonate.

Ischemic perinatal stroke (IPS) occurs in 1 of 2300 to 5000 live births. It is an under-recognized cause of significant long-term disabilities, including hemiplegic cerebral palsy, epilepsy, cognitive delays, and behavioral impairments. The pathophysiology is complex and multifactorial, involving maternal, fetal, placental, and neonatal factors.