Hyperbilirubinemia and neurodevelopmental outcome of very low birthweight infants: results from the LIFT cohort.

Background: Bilirubin-related neurotoxicity is an important clinical issue in very low birthweight (VLBW) infants, and the existing literature is inconsistent.

Objective: To analyze the relationship between maximal serum unconjugated bilirubin levels (SBL) and neurodevelopmental outcome at 2-year corrected age in VLBW infants.

Methods: Phototherapy was initiated in all infants born before 33 weeks of gestation, according to Maisels' recommendations.

[Analgesia and sedation in premature newborns].

Analgesics and sedatives are routinely prescribed in intensive care on intubated premature newborns, to ensure their comfort and limit pain. The results of two studies show that there is no significant link between prolonged exposure to these treatments and a more unfavourable long-term neurological outcome.

[Cobedding for premature twins].

The cobedding of premature twins consists in lying them together in a single cocoon to maintain the closeness developed in the womb. It is associated with beneficial effects on the quality of sleep and could favour weight gain. Moreover, it does not seem to increase the incidence of infections or the frequency of the accidental removal of medical devices.

Application of denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography for intestinal microbiota analysis of newborns.

Aims: Neonatal microbiota development seems to play a key role in the early origins of health and disease. However, the analysis of this complex ecosystem is still difficult. The aim of this work was to investigate the feasibility of a new technique, denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (dHPLC), to analyze newborn intestinal microbiota using genomic approaches.

The use of procalcitonin in the diagnosis of late-onset infection in neonatal intensive care unit patients.

We evaluated the semi-quantitative procalcitonin level for diagnosing late-onset infections in 176 neonates. Using a cut-off level of 0.5 ng/ml, the sensitivity was 84.

Shock revealing salt poisoning in a neonate.

Background: We report a case of shock, revealing a severe hypernatremia caused by salt poisoning in a 17-day-old male neonate.

Objective: We consider the physiopathology of salt overload in this context and the diagnostic strategy in neonate with hypernatremia.

Methods: We used patient history, weight, plasma, and urine osmolality to establish the diagnostic strategy.