Importance: Intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) has proven to be a challenging and enduring complication of prematurity. However, its association with neurodevelopment across the spectrum of IVH severity, independent of prematurity, and in the context of contemporary care remains uncertain.
Objective: To evaluate national trends in IVH diagnosis and the association with survival and neurodevelopmental outcomes at 2 years of age.
Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed
December 2024
Objective: Following very preterm birth, some children require ongoing intensive care after the neonatal period and transition directly from neonatal units (NNUs) to paediatric intensive care units (PICUs) around term-corrected age.We aimed to understand, at a national level, characteristics and outcomes of children born very preterm who transitioned directly from NNUs to PICUs.
Design: Retrospective cohort study, using data linkage of National Neonatal Research Database, Paediatric Intensive Care Audit Network and Office for National Statistics datasets.
Importance: Children born very preterm (<32 weeks) are at risk of ongoing morbidity and admission to pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) in childhood. However, the influence of the timing of neonatal discharge on unplanned PICU admission has not been established.
Objective: To examine whether the timing of neonatal discharge (postmenstrual age and season) is associated with subsequent unplanned PICU admission.
Health Technol Assess
October 2024
Background: Neonates undergoing emergency abdominal surgery frequently require a stoma; closing this stoma with a second operation is an essential part of recovery. Timing of closure varies. Optimal timing is unclear and would be best resolved through a randomised controlled trial; such a trial is likely to be challenging.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: The objectives of this study were to (i) quantify the contribution of maternal hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) to iatrogenic preterm birth (PTB) and neonatal unit (NNU) admissions < 34 weeks and (ii) describe short-term population-level outcomes for HDP infants, exploring ethnic disparities and comparing outcomes by HDP exposure.
Design: Retrospective population-based study using the National Neonatal Research Database.
Setting: England and Wales.
Introduction: Over 3000 infants suffer a brain injury around the time of birth every year in England. Although these injuries can have important implications for children and their families, our understanding of how these injuries affect children's lives is limited.
Methods And Analysis: The aim of the CHERuB study (Childhood Health and Educational outcomes afteR perinatal Brain injury) is to investigate longitudinal childhood health and educational outcomes after perinatal brain injury through the creation of a population-matched cohort study.
Introduction: Early-life medical and surgical interventions in babies born preterm and/or with surgical conditions influence later life health and educational outcomes. Obtaining long-term outcomes post-discharge to evaluate the impact of interventions is complex, expensive, and burdensome to families. Linkage of routinely collected data offers a feasible and cost-effective solution.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The optimal time for neonatal stoma closure is unclear and there have been calls for a trial to compare early and late surgery. The feasibility of such a trial will depend on the population of eligible infants and acceptability to families and health professionals. In this study, we aimed to determine current UK practice and characteristics of those undergoing stoma surgery.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Current data suggests potential benefit of earlier surgery for necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) however this requires accurate prognostication early in the disease course. This study aims to identify and determine the effectiveness of previously reported methods or tests for the identification of surgical NEC.
Methods: Systematic review and meta-analysis with registration on PROSPERO including articles describing a method of identifying surgical NEC.
Background: PlGF (placental growth factor)-based testing reduces severe maternal adverse outcomes. Repeat PlGF-based testing is not associated with improved perinatal or maternal outcomes. This planned secondary analysis aimed to determine whether there is a subgroup of women who benefit from repeat testing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFApproved therapies for the treatment of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) mediate pulmonary vascular vasodilatation by targeting distinct biological pathways. International guidelines recommend that patients with an inadequate response to dual therapy with a phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitor (PDE5i) and endothelin receptor antagonist (ERA), are recommended to either intensify oral therapy by adding a selective prostacyclin receptor (IP) agonist (selexipag), or switching from PDE5i to a soluble guanylate-cyclase stimulator (sGCS; riociguat). The clinical equipoise between these therapeutic choices provides the opportunity for evaluation of individualized therapeutic effects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To quantify the characteristics of children admitted to neonatal units (NNUs) and paediatric intensive care units (PICUs) before the age of 2 years.
Design: A data linkage study of routinely collected data.
Setting: National Health Service NNUs and PICUs in England and Wales PATIENTS: Children born from 2013 to 2018.
Background: Placental growth factor (PlGF)-based testing has high diagnostic accuracy for predicting pre-eclampsia needing delivery, significantly reducing time to diagnosis and severe maternal adverse outcomes. The clinical benefit of repeat PlGF-based testing is unclear. We aimed to determine whether repeat PlGF-based testing (using a clinical management algorithm and nationally recommended thresholds) reduces adverse perinatal outcomes in pregnant individuals with suspected preterm pre-eclampsia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To describe clinical pathways for infants with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) and short-term outcomes.
Design: Retrospective observational cohort study using the UK National Neonatal Research Database (NNRD).
Patients: Babies with a diagnosis of CDH admitted to a neonatal unit in England and Wales between 2012 and 2020.
Objectives: To explore the effect of changes in national clinical recommendations in 2019 that extended provision of survival focused care to babies born at 22 weeks' gestation in England and Wales.
Design: Population based cohort study.
Setting: England and Wales, comprising routine data for births and hospital records.
In patients with heart failure, guideline directed medical therapy improves outcomes and requires close patient monitoring. Pulmonary artery pressure monitors permit remote assessment of cardiopulmonary haemodynamics and facilitate early intervention that has been shown to decrease heart failure hospitalization. Pressure sensors implanted in the pulmonary vasculature are stabilized through passive or active interaction with the anatomy and communicate with an external reader to relay invasively measured pressure by radiofrequency.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Survival of babies born very preterm (<32 weeks gestational age) has increased, although preterm-born children may have ongoing morbidity. We aimed to investigate the risk of admission to paediatric intensive care units (PICUs) of children born very preterm following discharge home from neonatal care.
Design: Retrospective cohort study, using data linkage of National Neonatal Research Database and the Paediatric Intensive Care Audit Network datasets.
Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed
February 2024
Objective: United Kingdom guidelines recommend all infants born <30 weeks' gestation receive neurodevelopmental follow-up at 2 years corrected age. In this study, we describe completeness and results of 2-year neurodevelopmental records in the National Neonatal Research Database (NNRD).
Design: This retrospective cohort study uses data from the NNRD, which holds data on all neonatal admissions in England and Wales, including 2year follow-up status.
Background: Approximately one in ten women have high blood pressure during pregnancy. Hypertension is associated with adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes, and as treatment improves maternal outcomes, antihypertensive treatment is recommended. Previous trials have been unable to provide a definitive answer on which antihypertensive treatment is associated with optimal maternal and neonatal outcomes and the need for robust evidence evaluating maternal and infant benefits and risks remains an important, unanswered question for research and clinical communities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImportance: Inequalities in preterm infant mortality exist between population subgroups within the United States.
Objective: To characterize trends in preterm infant mortality by maternal race and socioeconomic status to assess how inequalities in preterm mortality rates have changed over time.
Design, Setting, And Participants: This was a retrospective longitudinal descriptive study using the US National Center for Health Statistics birth infant/death data set for 12 256 303 preterm infant births over 26 years, between 1995 and 2020.
Background: The Diversity Working Group was formed in response to Australian Quality and Safety Health Care Standards that require organisations plan service delivery that incorporates information about the diversity of consumers, and those at higher risk of harm.
Methods: A qualitative gap analysis was conducted by a team from varied professional backgrounds including a clinician researcher, a nurse researcher with expertise in culturally and linguistically diverse care and a consumer representative with expertise in advocacy and carer representation. Qualitative questions were co-designed, using a person-centred care lens.
Objective: We sought to compare the incidence of early-onset sepsis (EOS) in infants ≥34 weeks' gestation identified >24 hours after birth, in hospitals using the Kaiser Permanente Sepsis Risk Calculator (SRC) with hospitals using the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance.
Design And Setting: Prospective observational population-wide cohort study involving all 26 hospitals with neonatal units colocated with maternity services across London (10 using SRC, 16 using NICE).
Participants: All live births ≥34 weeks' gestation between September 2020 and August 2021.
Aim: To undertake a systematic review and meta-analysis exploring school-age neurodevelopmental outcomes of children after low-grade intraventricular haemorrhage (IVH).
Method: The published and grey literature was extensively searched to identify observational comparative studies exploring neurodevelopmental outcomes after IVH grades 1 and 2. Our primary outcome was neurodevelopmental impairment after 5 years of age, which included cognitive, motor, speech and language, behavioural, hearing, or visual impairments.
Background: Neonatal care is commonly regionalised, meaning specialist services are only available at certain units. Consequently, infants with surgical conditions needing specialist care who are born in non-surgical centres require postnatal transfer. Best practice models advocate for colocated maternity and surgical services as the place of birth for infants with antenatally diagnosed congenital conditions to avoid postnatal transfers.
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