Impact of antenatal corticosteroid exposure on thymus size in premature infants.

Background: This study examined the effect of corticosteroids on the thymic index (TI) and the thymus/weight index (TWI) in infants exposed to antenatal corticosteroids (ACS).

Methods: This prospective study was conducted between August 2014 and October 2018. A thymus ultrasound was performed to assess thymus size on the second day of life.

Favorable outcomes in the treatment of aggressive posterior retinopathy of prematurity.

Objectives: To report the results of intravitreal ranibizumab injection as primary therapy in aggressive posterior retinopathy of prematurity, the process of the disease, and the additive treatments performed.

Methods: This retrospective case review included 15 eyes of 8 premature babies with aggressive posterior retinopathy of prematurity who were initially treated with intravitreal ranibizumab injection. The documented data were gestational age, birth weight, gender, postmenstrual age at intravitreal ranibizumab injection, zone of retinopathy of prematurity, reactivation time of disease, iris neovascularization, retinal hemorrhage, anatomical outcome, and additional treatment.

Determination of tissue hypoxia by physicochemical approach in premature anemia.

Background: Anemia is a common problem in premature infants and its most rapid and effective therapy is erythrocyte transfusion. However, owing to inherent risks of transfusion in this population, transfusions should be administered only when adequate oxygen delivery to tissues is impaired. The aim of this study was to determine tissue acid levels using Stewart method in an attempt to evaluate the tissue oxygenation level and thereby the accuracy of transfusion timing.

Association of Serum Albumin Level and Mortality in Premature Infants.

Background: Hypoalbuminemia has been proven to be a powerful predictor of mortality in adult patients. However, prognostic value of serum albumin in neonates is not clear.

Objective: To assess the relationship between serum albumin level within the first day of life and outcome in preterm infants born before 32 weeks of gestation.

An aggressive parenteral nutrition protocol improves growth in preterm infants.

The objective of this study was to compare postnatal growth and clinical outcomes of preterm infants after an adjustment in amino acid and lipid administration practice. The study was conducted retrospectively in preterm infants with a birth weight < 1250 g for the periods January-June 2007 and June-November 2010. In 2007, amino acid solution was initiated at 2 g/kg/ day on the first day of life and advanced 1 g/kg/day to a maximum of 3 g/kg/day; lipid solution was initiated at 1 g/kg/day on the first day of life and advanced 0.

Idiopathic central diabetes insipidus presenting in a very low birth weight infant successfully managed with lyophilized sublingual desmopressin.

Neonatal central diabetes insipidus (DI) is an extremely rare disorder that can cause severe morbidity and mortality. We have reported a very low birth weight infant with idiopathic central DI presenting in the first month of life who was successfully treated with sublingual desmopressin therapy. In this report, we emphasize that central DI should be kept in mind in an infant with unexplained hypernatremia and polyuria.

Upper Airway Obstruction in a Newborn with Vallecular Cyst.

Vallecular cyst is a rare cause of stridor in neonates, which may present as a life threatening airway obstruction. Here, we report a preterm infant with a congenital vallecular cyst who presented with stridor and respiratory distress that developed immediately after birth. She was successfully treated with endoscopic marsupialization.

Epidermoid Cyst of Orbit in a Newborn.

A 3-day-old male newborn presented with a severe proptosis of the left eye leading to exposure keratopathy. He underwent debulking of the cyst and biopsy of the tumour and received the pathological diagnosis of epidermoid cyst of orbit. Clinicopathological features of this rare disease are discussed.

Is umbilical cord milking always an advantage?

Objective: The role of cord milking as an alternative to delayed cord clamping is an area that requires more research. Purpose of this clinical trial was to investigate the impact of umbilical cord milking on the absolute neutrophil counts (ANCs) and the neutropenia frequency of preterm infants.

Methods: Fifty-eight pregnant women were randomly assigned to one of the umbilical cord milking and control groups.

"Shunt index" can be used to predict clinically significant patent ductus arteriosus in premature neonates in early post-natal life.

Background: This study aimed to examine the differences between arterial and inferior caval vein oxygen saturation, fractional oxygen extraction, and the shunt index, which were calculated in the diagnosis of patent ductus arteriosus.

Methods: Twenty-seven preterm infants were included in this study and were divided into two groups according to patent ductus arteriosus. Among them, 11 (41%) infants had haemodynamically significant patent ductus arteriosus and 16 (59%) did not have significant patent ductus arteriosus.

Hepatic laceration as a life-threatening complication of umbilical venous catheterization.

Umbilical venous catheterization is an intravenous infusion route for maintenance fluids, medications, blood products, and parenteral nutrition in preterm neonates. However, this procedure may be associated with several complications, such as infection, thrombosis, vessel perforation, and cardiac and hepatic injuries. Hepatic laceration is a rare but life-threatening complication of umbilical venous catheterization that is a result of direct injury through the liver parenchyma.

Comparison of UK and US screening criteria for detection of retinopathy of prematurity in a developing nation.

Purpose: To determine the incidence, risk factors, and appropriateness of differing guidelines in developed nations for screening for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in a single nursery in a large urban city in southern Turkey.

Methods: The records of 260 premature infants born ≤34 weeks in a single tertiary unit were retrospectively reviewed for ROP risk factors and diagnosis. Applicability of UK and US criteria were assessed by the use of receiver operating characteristic curves.

Use of balloon-expandable metallic stent in a premature infant with congenital tracheobronchial stenosis.

A congenital tracheobronchial stenosis is a rare obstructive lesion of the airway characterized by intrinsic narrowing of a segment of the trachea and bronchi. In this report, we present the smallest premature infant with a congenital tracheobronchial stenosis who has been successfully treated with balloon dilatation and placement of a balloon-expandable metallic stent.

PHACES syndrome with small, late-onset hemangiomas.

Although hemangiomas are the hallmark of the PHACES syndrome, they may be nonexistent at birth and may not develop until later in early infancy. We report an infant who presented initially with cardiac defect, sternal nonunion, supraumbilical raphé, and congenital hypothyroidism without any hemangioma, and who subsequently developed facial hemangiomas at 2 months of age. We noted that there is a possibility that hemangiomas may subsequently develop later in early infancy and congenital hypothyroidism may be associated with the PHACES syndrome.