Beneficial vs harmful effects of pharmacological treatment of patent ductus arteriosus: A Bayesian meta-analysis.

Background: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have failed to demonstrate the beneficial effects of the pharmacological treatment of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in preterm infants. We conducted a Bayesian model averaged (BMA) meta-analysis of RCTs comparing the pharmacological treatment of PDA with placebo or expectant treatment.

Methods: We searched for RCTs including infants with gestational age (GA) ≤ 32 weeks and with a rate of open-label treatment of less than 25% in the control arm.

Lung Microbiota and Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia in the Neonatal Period.

The lung microbiota is a complex community of microorganisms that colonize the respiratory tract of individuals from, or even before, birth. Although the lungs were traditionally believed to be sterile, recent research has shown that there is a diversity of bacterial species in the respiratory system. Knowledge about the lung microbiota in newborns and its relationship with bacterial infections is of vital importance to understand the pathogenesis of respiratory diseases in neonatal patients undergoing mechanical ventilation.

Morbidity and Mortality of Very-Low-Birthweight Twin Infants according to Their Sex and the Sex of the Co-Twin: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Introduction: The concept of male disadvantage regarding the prognosis of premature newborns was introduced more than half a century ago, and it has been corroborated over time. However, the influence of the sex of one twin on the outcomes of the other has yielded contradictory results.

Objective: The aim of the study was to determine if, in twin pregnancies of VLBW infants, the outcomes of one twin are modified by the sex of the co-twin.

Intercenter variability and factors associated with survival without bronchopulmonary dysplasia in extremely preterm newborns.

Variability in clinical practice may influence morbidity and mortality in extremely preterm infants. We aimed to know if there are differences in survival and survival without bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in extremely preterm infants in Spanish tertiary hospitals and the potential associated factors. Fifteen hospitals from the SEN1500 network were studied.

Neural breathing patterns in preterm newborns supported with non-invasive neurally adjusted ventilatory assist.

Objective: To characterize the neural breathing pattern in preterm infants supported with non-invasive neurally adjusted ventilatory assist (NIV-NAVA).

Study Design: Single-center prospective observational study. The electrical activity of the diaphragm (EAdi) was periodically recorded in 30-second series with the Edi catheter and the Servo-n software (Maquet, Solna, Sweden) in preterm infants supported with NIV-NAVA.

Variations in the number of births by day of the week, and morbidity and mortality in very-low-birth-weight infants.

Objective: To know the distribution of births of very low birth weight infants by day of the week, and whether this distribution affects the morbidity and mortality in this group of patients.

Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of data collected prospectively in the Spanish SEN1500 network (2002-2011). Outborn infants, patients with major congenital anomalies, and those who died in the delivery room were excluded.

Perinatal risk factors for pneumothorax and morbidity and mortality in very low birth weight infants.

Aim: To determine the perinatal risk factors for pneumothorax in Very-Low-Birth-Weight (VLBW) infants and the associated morbidity and mortality in this population.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of data collected prospectively from a cohort of VLBW neonates assisted in our Unit (2006-2013). We included all consecutive in-born patients with ≤ 1500 g, without severe congenital anomalies.

Outcomes of very-low-birth-weight infants exposed to maternal clinical chorioamnionitis: a multicentre study.

Background: Chorioamnionitis is a recognized risk factor of preterm delivery; however, controversy still persists concerning the relationship between maternal inflammation and neonatal morbidity and mortality.

Objective: To determine the incidence of clinical chorioamnionitis and its relationship to morbidity and mortality among very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) infants.

Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data of VLBW neonates ≤ 32 weeks' gestational age (GA) admitted to collaborating units in the Spanish SEN1500 Network between January 2008 and December 2011.

Morbidity and mortality among very-low-birth-weight infants born to mothers with clinical chorioamnionitis.

Background: Controversy exists about the relationship between maternal inflammation and the development of different morbidities and mortality in the newborn. We aimed to establish the incidence of clinical chorioamnionitis in our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and its relation to morbidity and mortality among very-low-birth-weight infants.

Methods: This was an observational study of a cohort of very-low-birth-weight neonates admitted to our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, between January 2008 and December 2012.