Multicentre external validation of the Neonatal Healthcare-associated infectiOn Prediction (NeoHoP) score: a retrospective case-control study.

Background And Objectives: Neonatal mortality due to severe bacterial infections is a pressing global issue, especially in low-middle-income countries (LMICs) with constrained healthcare resources. This study aims to validate the Neonatal Healthcare-associated infectiOn Prediction (NeoHoP) score, designed for LMICs, across diverse neonatal populations.

Methods: Prospective data from three South African neonatal units in the Neonatal Sepsis Observational (NeoOBS) study were analysed.

Neonatal encephalopathy due to suspected hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy: pathophysiology, current, and emerging treatments.

Background: Neonatal encephalopathy (NE) due to suspected hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), referred to as NESHIE, is a clinical diagnosis in late preterm and term newborns. It occurs as a result of impaired cerebral blood flow and oxygen delivery during the peripartum period and is used until other causes of NE have been discounted and HIE is confirmed. Therapeutic hypothermia (TH) is the only evidence-based and clinically approved treatment modality for HIE.

Assessment of three antibiotic combination regimens against Gram-negative bacteria causing neonatal sepsis in low- and middle-income countries.

Gram-negative bacteria (GNB) are a major cause of neonatal sepsis in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Although the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that over 80% of these sepsis deaths could be prevented through improved treatment, the efficacy of the currently recommended first- and second-line treatment regimens for this condition is increasingly affected by high rates of drug resistance. Here we assess three well known antibiotics, fosfomycin, flomoxef and amikacin, in combination as potential antibiotic treatment regimens by investigating the drug resistance and genetic profiles of commonly isolated GNB causing neonatal sepsis in LMICs.

A Retrospective Observational Study of the Impact of HIV Status on the Outcome of Paediatric Intensive Care Unit Admissions at a Tertiary Hospital in South Africa (2015-2019).

HIV-infected and HIV-exposed but uninfected (HEU) children have unique health risks. Our study looked at how HIV exposure and infection impact presentation and outcomes in PICU in an era of improved ART. A retrospective analysis of children admitted to PICU was performed.

Improved survival of children and adolescents with classical Hodgkin lymphoma treated on a harmonised protocol in South Africa.

Background: Historic South African 5-year overall survival (OS) rates for Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) from 2000 to 2010 were 46% and 84% for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive and HIV-negative children, respectively. We investigated whether a harmonised treatment protocol using risk stratification and response-adapted therapy could increase the OS of childhood and adolescent HL.

Methods: Seventeen units prospectively enrolled patients less than 18 years, newly diagnosed with classical HL onto a risk-stratified, response-adapted treatment protocol from July 2016 to December 2022.