Transient periventricular echodensities in preterms and neurodevelopmental outcome.

Little is known about the clinical evolution and neurologic sequelae of transient periventricular echodensities in the neonatal period. The aim of our study was to assess the neurodevelopmental outcome in preterm infants with transient periventricular echodensities. Cerebral ultrasonography was performed within the first 72 hours of life on all preterms with a < or = 37 weeks' gestational age who were admitted consecutively to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the University of Parma from January 2001 to December 2002.

Neonatal seizures in preterm infants: clinical outcome and relationship with subsequent epilepsy.

Objective: Neonatal seizures are considered an acute manifestation of disturbance of the neonatal brain. Some of them can be considered as neonatal epilepsy. Our goal was to evaluate perinatal risk factors, electroencephalogram (EEG) findings and ictal semeiological characteristics of our newborns with neonatal seizures in order to identify which clinical variables were the most early predictive factors of poor neurodevelopmental outcome and of epilepsy.

Early diagnosis of bacterial infection in the neonate.

The diagnosis of neonatal bacterial infection remains one of the greatest and most tantalizing challenges to neonatologists. At birth it must be based on the history of pregnancy and take into account a number of now well-defined risk factors. In addition, if promptly started, antibiotic therapy can reduce its sequelae and improve the prognosis.

Alteration of the amniotic fluid and neonatal outcome.

Quantitative and qualitative alterations of the amniotic fluid complicate 7% of the pregnancies. Polyhydramnios complicates 1-3% while oligohydramnios involves 3-5% of the pregnancies. The most common causes of polyhydramnios are fetal abnormalities, maternal diabetes and twin pregnancies, but are idiopathic in the 60%.

[Early discharge project appropriate for the healthy newborn].

Recently the stay in the hospital of the pueperae and of their newborns has progressively been shortened in several Countries. A lot of reports evaluating the risks of early discharges have not shown any significant differences in the hospital readmission rates between newborn early discharged and case-controls. This phenomenon is occurring also in Italy and the early discharge after the delivery is one of the aims of the "Percorso-Nascita" in the National Health Program of 1998-2000.