[Blood lactate measurments as a diagnostic and prognostic tool after birth asphyxia in newborn infants with gestational age > or = 34 gestational weeks].

Unlabelled: Blood lactate at birth as result of activated anaerobic glycolysis is a marker of perinatal asphyxia.

Aim: To evaluate the dynamics of blood lactate, pH and base excess (BE) as a tool for assessing the severity of fetal hypoxia and predicting neonatal outcome.

Methods: 79 neonates (> or = 34 gestational weeks) were included and followed up until discharge: 43 with pathologic fetal hearth rate patterns and/or 1-minute Apgar score < 7 ("asphyxia group"); 36 without obstetric or clinical signs of asphyxia (control group).

[Maternal insulin-dependent diabetes and congenital malformations in the newborn].

Congenital malformations (CM) are one of the leading causes of perinatal morbidity and mortality in infants of insulin dependent diabetic mothers (IDM). The aim of the present study is to determinate the incidence and structure of CM in this high risk population. The study included 14,325 newborns born between 1997-2000.

[Retinopathy of prematurity--frequency and risk factors].

Unlabelled: Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a significant problem in very low birth weight (VLBW) newborns, patients of the neonatal intensive care units (NICU). The aim of the present investigation is to report the results of our ROP-screening program: 1. Current frequency of ROP and the need for retinal surgery; 2.

[A clinico-epidemiological study of neural tube defects in newborn infants].

This is a retrospective study on the rate of inborn defects of neural tube in University Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynaecology--Sofia for two 5-years-long periods of time: from 1986 to 1990 and from 1993 to 1997. The results show an increasing rate of inborn NTD during the second period of time which can be partly explained by the fact that the hospital is National Perinatal Centre where high risk pregnancies and deliveries are concentrated. Most disturbing is the fact that more than half of life-born and still-born infants with NTD are at an age of gestation higher than 34 g.

[The duration and extent of intensive therapy for newborns].

The aim of the study is to evaluate the duration, the extent and the complications of the intensive care of neonates, treated in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of DUB "Maĭchin Dom" Sofia. Included retrospectively are all 383 neonates, admitted in the NICU for 1995, classified as mature--131, premature stage I--70, stage II--75, stage III--71 and stage IV--36 babies. The duration of the stay is increasing progressively according their weight: from 4 days for the mature children to 15.