Caffeine and Less Invasive Surfactant Administration for Respiratory Distress Syndrome of the Newborn.

BACKGROUND: Management strategies for preterm neonates with respiratory distress syndrome include early initiation of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and titration of fractional inspired oxygen and may include the use of less invasive surfactant administration (LISA) to avoid the need for endotracheal intubation. This randomized trial investigated whether early administration of caffeine and LISA would decrease the need for endotracheal intubation in the first 72 hours of life (HoL) compared with caffeine and CPAP alone. METHODS: Eligible neonates born at 24 weeks 0 days to 29 weeks 6 days of gestational age were randomly assigned to receive intravenous caffeine in the first 2 HoL followed by surfactant administration via the LISA method (intervention) or caffeine followed by CPAP (control).

Implementation of a Clinical Prediction Model Using Daily Postnatal Weight Gain, Birth Weight, and Gestational Age to Risk Stratify ROP.

Purpose: To develop a simple prognostic model using postnatal weight gain, birth weight, and gestational age to identify infants at risk for developing severe retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).

Methods: Medical records from two tertiary referral centers with the diagnosis code "Retinopathy of Prematurity" were evaluated. Those with a birth weight of 1,500 g or less, gestational age of 30 weeks or younger, and unstable clinical courses were included.