Opioids for newborn infants receiving mechanical ventilation.

Background: Mechanical ventilation is a potentially painful and discomforting intervention that is widely used in neonatal intensive care. Newborn infants demonstrate increased sensitivity to pain, which may affect clinical and neurodevelopmental outcomes. The use of drugs that reduce pain might be important in improving survival and neurodevelopmental outcomes.

Assessment and feasibility of the four landmarks of the aortic root in a cohort of very preterm infants.

Background: The diameter of the aortic root is used as a parameter to calculate blood flow in very preterm infants. There are considerable differences in diameter of the four anatomical landmarks of the aortic root in children and adults, but limited data are available for the very preterm population. The aim of this study was to obtain reference and reliability data on two-dimensional measurements of the aortic root in very preterm infants <30 weeks gestation.

The methodology of Doppler-derived central blood flow measurements in newborn infants.

Central blood flow (CBF) measurements are measurements in and around the heart. It incorporates cardiac output, but also measurements of cardiac input and assessment of intra- and extracardiac shunts. CBF can be measured in the central circulation as right or left ventricular output (RVO or LVO) and/or as cardiac input measured at the superior vena cava (SVC flow).

Cardiorespiratory effects of changes in end expiratory pressure in ventilated newborns.

Background: Positive pressure ventilation in premature infants can improve oxygenation but may diminish cerebral blood flow and cardiac output. Low superior vena cava (SVC) flow increases risk of intraventricular haemorrhage, and higher mean airway pressure is associated with low SVC flow. Whether this is a direct effect of positive pressure ventilation or a reflection of severity of lung disease is not known.