Lung ultrasound in neonates under cardiac surgery: feasible and predictive.

Purpose: To determine whether pre- and postoperative follow-up based on lung ultrasound is associated with the respiratory and clinical evolution of patients undergoing cardiac surgery in the neonatal period.

Methods: Prospective observational unicentric study from December 2020 to October 2023 in a neonatal intensive care unit, a referral center for congenital heart diseases (CHD). Neonates with CHD exposed to heart surgery or percutaneous catheterization in their first 28 days of life were included.

Impact of catheterized ductal closure on renal and cerebral oximetry in premature neonates.

Percutaneous catheter-based closure is increasingly utilized in premature newborns. While near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) has been examined for assessment of interventional closure in surgical ligation, its application in percutaneous transcatheter closure remains unexplored. This study aims to assess cerebral and renal hemodynamic changes using NIRS during percutaneous closure compared to surgical closure in preterm infants.

Impact on cerebral hemodynamics of the use of volume guarantee combined with high frequency oscillatory ventilation in a neonatal animal respiratory distress model.

Unlabelled: High-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) is an alternative to conventional mechanical ventilation (CMV). Recently, the use of volume guarantee (VG) combined with HFOV has been suggested as a safe strategy capable of reducing the damage induced by ventilation in immature lungs. However, the possible impact of this new ventilation technique on cerebral hemodynamics is unknown.

Lung ultrasound and postoperative follow-up of congenital diaphragmatic hernia.

Lung ultrasound (LU) has emerged as a valuable tool for assessing pulmonary aeration noninvasively, rapidly, and reliably in different neonatal conditions. However, its role in the preoperative and postoperative evaluation in congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is still poorly analyzed. We present a cohort of 8 patients diagnosed with CDH who underwent lung ultrasound examinations at various time points before and after surgical correction.

Antenatal magnesium sulphate and delayed passage of meconium: A multicentre study.

Introduction: The published evidence on the association between magnesium sulphate (MgSO) and delayed passage of meconium (DPM) is contradictory.

Objectives: To determine whether there is an association between the administration of MgSO to the mother and DPM in the neonate, and to analyse serum magnesium levels in neonates in relation to the cumulative dose of MgSO administered to the mother.

Population And Methods: Retrospective and prospective descriptive and analytical study conducted in patients delivered at or before 32 weeks of gestation in 2 tertiary care hospitals.

Prenatal therapy with magnesium sulphate and intestinal obstruction due to meconium in preterm newborns.

Introduction: Magnesium sulphate (MgSO) therapy has shown to be useful as a neurological protector in the preterm newborn below 32 weeks of gestation. The most documented adverse effect is cardiorespiratory failure, whereas its relationship with meconium obstruction is controversial. The main objective of this study was to analyse the possible association between prenatal MgSO therapy and meconium obstruction.

Prognostic value of somatosensory-evoked potentials in the newborn with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy after the introduction of therapeutic hypothermia.

Unlabelled: To establish the ability of somatosensory-evoked potentials (SEPs) to detect neurological damage in neonatal patients with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) treated with therapeutic hypothermia (TH). Retrospective study including 84 neonates ≥ 36 weeks of gestational age with HIE and TH with SEPs performed in the first 14 days of life. SEPs from the median nerve were performed after completion of TH.

Neonatal pneumothoraces with atypical location: the role of lung ultrasound.

Unlabelled: Neonatal pneumothorax (NP) is a potentially life-threatening condition. Lung ultrasound (LUS) has shown higher sensitivity and specificity in diagnosis compared to x-rays, but evidence regarding its usefulness in complex NP is lacking. We report four neonates suffering from cardiac or esophageal malformations who developed lateral and/or posterior pneumothoraces, in which LUS helped, making NP diagnosis and management easier and faster.

Neonatal Fournier's Gangrene: Avoiding Extensive Debridement.

Fournier's gangrene is a necrotizing fasciitis of the scrotal and inguinal region, associating high mortality and complication rates. It is extremely rare in the neonatal period and may be life threatening. We present an exceptional case of a 24-day-old boy who consulted to the emergency department for fever (39 °C) and an indurated, fluctuating and painful erythema in both groins, left hemiscrotum, left anterior femoral region and perineum for the last 6 hours.

Parent Perception of Child Safety following Admission to a Neonatal Unit.

Objective: Parent partnership is a key aspect of neonatal hospital care. However, there is a lack of information regarding parents' perception of neonatal safety. This study explores parents' opinions on safety during their child's hospitalization to identify points for improvement.

[Prenatal therapy with magnesium sulphate and intestinal obstruction due to meconium in preterm newborns].

Introduction: Magnesium sulphate (MgSO) therapy has shown to be useful as a neurological protector in the preterm newborn below 32 weeks of gestation. The most documented adverse effect is cardiorespiratory failure, whereas its relationship with meconium obstruction is controversial. The main objective of this study was to analyse the possible association between prenatal MgSO therapy and meconium obstruction.

Lung ultrasound in preterm infants with respiratory distress: experience in a neonatal intensive care unit.

Lung ultrasound (LUS) has been described as a useful tool in early prognosis of several respiratory diseases of the newborn, especially preterm infant newborns (PTNB) with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), but still, it is not a standard of care in many neonatal units. We have conducted a descriptive, prospective study in a tertiary neonatal unit during 1 year. PTNB less than 35 weeks with respiratory distress at birth on non-invasive ventilation were recruited.

Lack of Variability in Cerebral Oximetry Tendency in Infants with Severe Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy Under Hypothermia.

Cerebral oximetry using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) provides continuous, noninvasive assessment of the degree of hemoglobin saturation of the brain tissue. Previous studies suggest that high values of regional cerebral tissue oxygen saturation (rScO) during the first days in neonates with significant hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) are correlated with an adverse neurological outcome. However, the results are not consistent among the studies.

Electrical velocimetry for non-invasive monitoring of the closure of the ductus arteriosus in preterm infants.

Unlabelled: Closure of a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in preterm infants modifies cardiac output and induces adaptive changes in the hemodynamic situation. The present study aims to analyze those changes, through a non-invasive cardiac output monitor based on blood electrical velocimetry, in preterm babies. A prospective observational study of preterm infants with a gestational age of less than 28 weeks, and a hemodynamic significant PDA, requires intravenous ibuprofen or surgical closure.

[Improving patient safety: Usefulness of safety checklists in a neonatal unit].

Introduction: Due to the complexity and characteristics of their patients, neonatal units are risk areas for the development of adverse events (AE). For this reason, there is a need to introduce and implement some tools and strategies that will help to improve the safety of the neonatal patient. Safety check-lists have shown to be a useful tool in other health areas but they are not sufficiently developed in Neonatal Units.

[Stridor in neonates with hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy subject to selective cerebral or whole body hypothermia].

Introduction: Hypothermia treatment has improved the prognosis of asphyxiated neonates. Widely used, it has demonstrated to be safe without severe side effects. The aim of this article is to review the incidence of stridor amongst asphyxiated newborns treated with hypothermia in our unit.