Early calcium and phosphorus supplementation in VLBW infants to reduce metabolic bone disease of prematurity: a quality improvement initiative.

Objective: To reduce the incidence of metabolic bone disease (MBD) among very low birthweight (VLBW) infants admitted to neonatal intensive care unit from baseline of 35% by 50% over 2 years by implementing a quality improvement (QI) initiative.

Methods: A multidisciplinary QI team used evidence-based interventions and the healthcare improvement model to reduce MBD rate in VLBW infants. The specific interventions included routine enteral supplementation of calcium and phosphorus using Human Milk Fortifier (HMF) to expressed breast milk by day 14 of life (Plan/Do/Study/Act (PDSA) cycle 1), parenteral and early enteral supplementation of calcium and phosphorus (PDSA cycles 2 and 3).

Persistence of G10P[11] neonatal rotavirus infections in southern India.

Background: Neonatal rotavirus infections are predominantly caused by distinct genotypes restricted to this age-group and are mostly asymptomatic.

Method: Stool samples from neonates admitted for >48 h in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in Vellore (2014-2015) and Chennai (2015-2016) in southern India, and from neonates born at hospitals in Vellore but not admitted to NICUs (2015-2016) were tested for rotavirus by ELISA and genotyped by hemi-nested RT-PCR.

Results: Of 791 neonates, 150 and 336 were recruited from Vellore and Chennai NICUs, and 305 were born in five hospitals in Vellore.

Distortion product otoacoustic emissions in very preterm infants: A longitudinal study.

Background: Very preterm infants are at a greater risk of developing neurodevelopmental impairments such as neuro-motor delays, vision and hearing deficits (Roze and Breart, 2004; Saigal and Doyle, 2008) [1,2]. The hearing difficulties in preterm infants vary depending on the co-morbid conditions. However, prematurity itself is considered as a risk factor that influence the functioning of auditory system.

Disposable low-cost cardboard incubator for thermoregulation of stable preterm infant - a randomized controlled non-inferiority trial.

Background: Incubators and radiant warmers are essential equipment in neonatal care, but the typical 1,500 to 35,000 USD cost per device makes it unaffordable for many units in low and middle-income countries. We aimed to determine whether stable preterm infants could maintain thermoregulation for 48 h in a low-cost incubator (LCI).

Methods: The LCI was constructed using a servo-heater costing 200 USD and cardboard infant-chamber.