Postdischarge Nutrition in Preterm Infants.

The field of postdischarge nutrition for preterm infants arose when concerns that using diets suitable for term infants-breastfeeding without fortification or standard formulas-might not meet the postdischarge nutritional needs of infants born preterm, who often exhibited growth restriction and evidence of undernutrition. A decade ago, there were already 27 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of nutritional supplementation from which an eligible subsample of trials have provided evidence on whether nutritional fortification of human milk or nutrient-enriched formula favorably affects postdischarge growth in these infants. These RCTs also allowed exploration of the quality of growth, bone mineralization, and the ad libitum-fed infant's own regulation of milk volume and nutrient intake.

Quality improvement: A practical nursing program's admission test.

Introduction: Academic institutions are under pressure to maintain a nearly flawless retention rate, while graduating successful students. The use of standardized admission tests to provide data driven decisions regarding applicant selection is common. The varying reliability and validity of current standardized tests inspired a large Canadian academic institution to use a faculty developed admission test for admission to its practical nursing (PN) program.

E-Mentoring for Doctor of Nursing Practice Students: A Pilot Program.

Background: The growing number of online Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) programs, steady attrition rates, and shortage of faculty created an opportunity to explore the use of distance-mediated mentoring.

Method: Twenty first-year DNP Nursing Leadership students were matched with DNP-prepared mentors in a formalized e-mentoring program. The Ideal Mentor Scale was used to determine what students desired most from the mentoring relationship in addition to midpoint and end-of-program surveys.

Randomized Controlled Trial of Talactoferrin Oral Solution in Preterm Infants.

Objective: To evaluate the safety and explore the efficacy of recombinant human lactoferrin (talactoferrin [TLf]) to reduce infection.

Study Design: We conducted a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled trial in infants with birth weight of 750-1500 g. Infants received enteral TLf (n = 60) or placebo (n = 60) on days 1 through 28 of life; the TLf dose was 150 mg/kg every 12 hours.

Randomized Control Trial of Human Recombinant Lactoferrin: A Substudy Reveals Effects on the Fecal Microbiome of Very Low Birth Weight Infants.

Unlabelled: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of enteral lactoferrin on the fecal microbiome and contrast those influences with the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) environment. We theorized that lactoferrin and the NICU habitat shape the fecal microbial composition of very preterm infants. Although functions attributed to lactoferrin include intestinal immune system development and emergence of a healthy gut microbiota, evidence is limited.

Monitoring Resource Utilization in a Health Care Coordination Program.

Purpose Of The Study: This initial article describes the development of a health care coordination intervention and documentation system designed using the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Care Coordination Atlas framework for Centers for Medicare & Medicaid-funded innovation project, Leveraging Information Technology to Guide High-Tech, High-Touch Care (LIGHT).

Primary Practice Setting(s): The study occurred at an academic medical center that serves 114 counties. Twenty-five registered nurse care managers (NCMs) were hired to work with 137 providers in 10 family community and internal medicine clinics.

Early Persistent Blood Eosinophilia in Necrotizing Enterocolitis Is a Predictor of Late Complications.

Background: Eosinophils infiltrate intestinal tissue during necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) and adult bowel diseases. We theorized that epithelial damage causes eosinophilic activation and recruitment at NEC onset.

Objective: We studied the relationship between persistent blood eosinophilia and medical or surgical complications during NEC.

Lactoferrin and necrotizing enterocolitis.

Purpose Of Review: There is an intense interest among neonatal caregivers as to whether lactoferrin given enterally may reduce the incidence of necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm infants. This review presents scientific and clinical evidence that lactoferrin alleviates or prevents this life-threatening disease.

Recent Findings: Preclinical studies in neonatal rats showed that lactoferrin given orally before enteral infection with pathogenic Escherichia coli reduced bacteremia and mortality.

Paneth cells and antibacterial host defense in neonatal small intestine.

Paneth cells are specialized epithelia in the small bowel that secrete antimicrobial proteins. Paneth cells are vital to the innate immunity of the small bowel in adult mammals, but their role during neonatal infection of the small bowel is not well established. Dithizone selectively damages Paneth cells, and when dithizone-treated newborn rats are infected enterally with Escherichia coli, the numbers of E.

Prenatal smoking and alterations in newborn heart rate during transition.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of prenatal cigarette smoke exposure on newborn heart rate following the physiologic challenge of birth.

Design: Nonexperimental, comparative.

Participants: A convenience sample of 130 full-term, healthy newborns who were born at a suburban medical center.