Assessment of early attention in an Italian cohort of preschooler preterm children using the Early Childhood Attention Battery.

Purpose: This cross-sectional monocentric study aims to utilize the Early Childhood Attention Battery to investigate early attention patterns in young preterm children and ascertain the extent to which their attentional abilities diverge from those of term peers.

Methods: Inclusion criteria encompassed gestational age < 34 weeks, with assessments conducted between 3 and 5 years 11 months. Exclusion criteria included major brain lesions, significant motor or behavioral disorders, and intellectual functioning with IQ < 70.

Lung Recruitment Before Surfactant Administration in Extremely Preterm Neonates: 2-Year Follow-Up of a Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: A multicenter randomized clinical trial (RCT) showed a lung recruitment maneuver using high-frequency oscillatory ventilation just before surfactant administration (ie, intubate-recruit-surfactant-extubate [IN-REC-SUR-E]) improved the efficacy of treatment compared with the standard intubate-surfactant-extubate (IN-SUR-E) technique without increasing the risk of adverse neonatal outcomes.

Objective: To examine follow-up outcomes at corrected postnatal age (cPNA) 2 years of preterm infants previously enrolled in an RCT and treated with IN-REC-SUR-E or IN-SUR-E in 35 tertiary neonatal intensive care units.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This was a follow-up study of infants recruited into the primary RCT from 2015 to 2018 at 35 tertiary neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in Italy.

pCO2 values in asphyxiated infants under therapeutic hypothermia after tailored respiratory management: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) represents one of the major causes of neonatal death and long-term neurological disability. Both hypoxic-ischemic insults and therapeutic hypothermia (TH) can affect respiratory function. Currently, there is no evidence regarding optimal respiratory management in these infants.

Neonatal hypoglycemia and neurodevelopmental outcomes: Yesterday, today, tomorrow.

Neonatal hypoglycemia is a major source of concern for pediatricians since it has commonly been related to poor neurodevelopmental outcomes. Diagnosis is challenging, considering the different operational thresholds provided by each guideline. Screening of infants at risk plays a crucial role, considering that most hypoglycemic infants show no clinical signs.

Sleep Disorders in Low-Risk Preterm Infants and Toddlers.

Sleep disorders are particularly important in the development of children, affecting the emotional, behavioural, and cognitive spheres. The incidence of these disorders has been assessed in different types of populations, including patients with a history of premature birth, who, from the literature data, would seem to have an increased incidence of sleep disorders at school age. The aims of the present study are: (i.

Conservative management of preterm premature rupture of membranes < 30 weeks of gestational age: Effectiveness of clinical guidelines implementation strategies.

Objective: To compare obstetrical and neonatal outcomes in patients with p-PROM (preterm premature rupture of membranes) at less than 30 weeks of gestational age before and after the application of protocols developed on the basis of international guidelines and to identify local barriers and strategies for their implementation.

Study Design: Single and twin pregnancies with p-PROM < 30 weeks of gestation without signs of infection were retrospectively collected. The population was divided in two groups.

Pravastatin for severe preeclampsia with growth restriction: Placental findings and infant follow-up.

Objective: Preeclampsia (PE) is the major cause of maternal morbidity and mortality and the leading cause of premature delivery worldwide. As well as intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), PE is associated with pathogenic evidence of placental malperfusion and ischemia. Recent literature has highlighted the potential of pravastatin in the prevention and treatment of these conditions.

Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Preterm Infants Receiving a Multicomponent vs. a Soybean-Based Lipid Emulsion: 24 Month Follow-Up of a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Few studies in the literature have analyzed the long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes of the administration of a multicomponent versus a soybean-based lipid emulsion (LE) in preterm infants receiving parenteral nutrition (PN). A recent randomized controlled trial conducted in our unit provided evidence of better growth in head circumference during the hospital stay in those who received a multicomponent LE.

Methods: This is a 24 month follow-up study of preterm infants, previously enrolled in a randomized trial, who received a multicomponent LE (SMOFlipid) or a standard soybean-based one (Intralipid).

Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination in low-risk infants born very preterm: a longitudinal prospective study.

Aim: To describe the profile of global and single items of the Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination (HINE) in a population of low-risk infants born very preterm during the first year of life.

Method: The HINE was performed at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months' corrected age in a population of low-risk infants born preterm with a gestational age of fewer than 32 weeks and with normal or minimal changes on neuroimaging.

Results: A total of 174 infants born preterm (96 males, 78 females; mean gestational age = 27 weeks [SD = 1.

Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination in infants born at term: Predicting outcomes other than cerebral palsy.

Aim: We explored the ability of the Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination (HINE) to identify cognitive performance delay at 2 years in a large cohort of infants born at term.

Method: We conducted a retrospective study of infants born at term at risk of neurodevelopmental impairments assessed using the HINE between 3 and 12 months post-term age and compared them with a cohort of typically developing infants born at term. All infants performed a neurodevelopmental assessment at 2 years of age using the Mental Development Index (MDI) of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, Second Edition; the presence of cerebral palsy (CP) was also reported.

Spyramicine and Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole Combination to Prevent Mother-To-Fetus Transmission of Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Pregnant Women: A 28-Years Single-center Experience.

Background: There is weak evidence on the best treatment of pregnant women with Toxoplasma gondii infection to prevent the vertical transmission to the fetus.

Methods: We conducted a 28-year retrospective study aiming to compare the efficacy of three therapeutic regimens [Spiramicyn alone (Spy) vs. Pyrimethamine-Sulfadiazine (P/S) vs.

Brain Growth Evaluation Assessed with Transfontanellar (B-GREAT) Ultrasound. Old and New Bedside Markers to Estimate Cerebral Growth in Preterm Infants: a Pilot Study.

Objective: We aimed to investigate the feasibility of evaluating overall preterm brain growth using a gathered set of measurements of brain structures in standard cranial ultrasound planes. We called this method of assessment Brain Growth Evaluation Assessed with Transfontanellar ultrasound (B-GREAT).

Study Design: In this prospective observational cohort study, cranial ultrasound was regularly performed (on day 1, 2, 3, and 7 of life, and then weekly until discharge, and at term) in preterm infants born with gestational age (GA) less than 32 weeks.

An Unusual Pneumoperitoneum in an Extremely Low Birth Weight Preterm Newborn.

Pneumoperitoneum (PP) is a radiological diagnosis, characterized by the presence of air under the diaphragm, that in 90% of cases results from a perforated viscus while in 10% of cases it is not associated to perforation, the so-called non-surgical or spontaneous PP. Spontaneous PP is rare at any paediatric and neonatal age. In the neonatal population, sporadic cases of spontaneous PP have been described, almost invariably following mechanical ventilation.

A novel homozygous variant in JAM3 gene causing hemorrhagic destruction of the brain, subependymal calcification, and congenital cataracts (HDBSCC) with neonatal onset.

Background: JAM3 gene, located on human chromosome 11q25, encodes a member of the junctional adhesion molecule (JAM) family. Mutations of this gene are associated with hemorrhagic destruction of the brain, subependymal calcification, and congenital cataracts (HDBSCC).

Case Report: Herein, we present a newborn male with a prenatal suspicion of bilateral cataracts but without fetal ultrasound findings of cortical malformations.

Extra-uterine growth restriction in preterm infants: Neurodevelopmental outcomes according to different definitions.

Aim: Extra-uterine Growth Restriction (EUGR) is common among preterm infants. Two types of EUGR definitions are still now available: cross-sectional definitions and longitudinal ones. In a cohort of very preterm infants, we aimed to evaluate which definition could better predict neurodevelopmental outcomes at 2 years of corrected age.

Ventriculosubgaleal shunt and neuroendoscopic lavage: refining the treatment algorithm of neonatal post-hemorrhagic hydrocephalus.

Background: The optimal management of neonatal post-hemorrhagic hydrocephalus (PHH) is still debated, though several treatment options have been proposed. In the last years, ventriculosubgaleal shunt (VSgS) and neuroendosdcopic lavage (NEL) have been proposed to overcome the drawbacks of more traditional options, such as external ventricular drainage and ventricular access device.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed neonates affected by PHH treated at our institution since September 2012 to September 2020.

Typical Crossmodal Numerosity Perception in Preterm Newborns.

Premature birth is associated with a high risk of damage in the parietal cortex, a key area for numerical and non-numerical magnitude perception and mathematical reasoning. Children born preterm have higher rates of learning difficulties for school mathematics. In this study, we investigated how preterm newborns (born at 28-34 weeks of gestation age) and full-term newborns respond to visual numerosity after habituation to auditory stimuli of different numerosities.

Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination for infants born preterm: predicting outcomes other than cerebral palsy.

Aim: We explored the ability of the Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination (HINE) to identify typical and delayed cognitive performance in a large population of infants born preterm, both with and without cerebral palsy (CP).

Method: We conducted a retrospective study of infants born preterm who had repeated HINEs between 3 and 12 months corrected age. At 2 years, cognition was assessed using the Mental Development Index (MDI; from the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, Second Edition) and the presence and severity of CP was determined.

Neurodevelopmental outcomes in very preterm infants: The role of severity of Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia.

Objective: Bronchopulmonary dysplasia is a chronic respiratory disease that still affects preterm neonates; its association with neurodevelopmental (ND) impairment is already known. Different studies investigated neurodevelopmental outcomes in infants with BPD, often using the old dichotomous definition (BPD vs Non-BPD). This retrospective study aims to evaluate the role of different BPD severity grades on ND outcomes at 24 months of corrected age (CA).

Growth of Head Circumference and Body Length in Preterm Infants Receiving a Multicomponent vs a Soybean-Based Lipid Emulsion: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: The growth of very low-birth-weight (VLBW) infants relies, to a large extent, on parenteral nutrition (PN) during the early weeks of life. Despite the parenteral nutrients supply, extrauterine growth restriction remains the main concern for these infants. A parenteral multicomponent lipid emulsion (MLE) might improve growth and neurological outcomes, delivering fats for brain growth that the traditional soybean-based lipid emulsion (SLE) fails to provide.

Overview of the rarest causes of fever in newborns: handy hints for the neonatologist.

Neonatal causes of fever are a major source of concern for clinicians. If fever is combined with organ-specific sterile inflammatory manifestations the suspicion of autoinflammatory disorders should be considered, and the list of such conditions starting in the neonatal period includes chronic infantile neurological cutaneous articular syndrome, mevalonate kinase deficiency, deficiency of the interleukin-1 receptor antagonist, otulipenia, STING-associated vasculopathy with onset in infancy and Blau syndrome. Other causes of noninfectious fever that can rarely occur in newborns are Kawasaki disease, Behçet's disease, and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis.

Early visual and neuro-development in preterm infants with and without retinopathy.

Background: Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is often associated with visual impairment and multiple developmental disabilities.

Aims: As most of the previous studies include infants with brain lesions, that can determine visual impairment per se, a cohort of low neurological risk preterm infants without ROP and with various degree of severity of ROP was assessed in order to establish visual and neurodevelopmental outcome.

Study Design: Preterm infants born at <31 weeks gestation, without major brain lesions, underwent visual function assessment at 1 year corrected age and neurodevelopmental assessment at 2 years corrected age.