From 2020 to today, considerable knowledge on SARS-CoV-2 has been collected, even on pregnant women and their fetuses and newborns, and clinical guidelines have been written and implemented worldwide. Vaccination has considerably improved outcomes, but hesitancy amongst pregnant patients and the emergence of variants remain challenging, and SARS-CoV-2 positivity during pregnancy continues to be associated with an increased risk of maternal complications, premature delivery, and higher neonatal mortality and morbidity. A body of data now exists on the effect of SARS-CoV-2 during pregnancy on early neonatal outcomes, medical education in obstetrics and pediatrics, and longer-term developmental outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHealthcare settings, especially intensive care units, can provide an ideal environment for the transmission of pathogens and the onset of outbreaks. Many factors can contribute to the onset of an epidemic in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), including neonates' vulnerability to healthcare-associated infections, especially for those born preterm; facility design; frequent invasive procedures; and frequent contact with healthcare personnel. Outbreaks in NICUs are one of the most relevant problems because they are often caused by multidrug-resistant organisms associated with increased mortality and morbidity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA new Italian intersociety position statement on the prevention of ophthalmia neonatorum was published in 2023. In this document, attention was paid to the indications for the screening of gonococcal and chlamydial infections during pregnancy according to the international and national guidelines for the prevention of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). We conducted an observational retrospective study to assess whether the current guidelines for the prevention of STIs are being followed correctly.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere is currently no worldwide agreement on the real need to administer conjunctival antibiotics to neonates at birth to prevent neonatal conjunctivitis (usually defined as ophthalmia neonatorum) by and . Therefore, there is wide variability in antibiotic administration, conditioned mainly by the social and health context. In Italy, a law enacted in 1940 required doctors and midwives to administer ophthalmic prophylaxis with 2% silver nitrate to all newborns at birth.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAntibiotics (Basel)
December 2023
The selection of an appropriate dose of a given antibiotic for a neonate not only requires knowledge of the drug's basic pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) properties but also the profound effects that organ development might have on the volume of distribution and clearance, both of which may affect the PK/PD of a drug. Interest has grown in alternative antibiotic dosing strategies that are better aligned with the antibiotic's PK and PD properties. These strategies should be used in conjunction with minimum inhibitory concentration measurements and therapeutic drug monitoring to measure their potential success.
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