Sitting Acquisition and Early Communication Development: Are There Associations in Very Preterm Infants at Six Months of Corrected Age?

: Research in typically and some atypically developing populations showed associations between early motor and communication development, documenting how postural development can support communicative advancements. However, these relations have scarcely been investigated in the preterm population. : The present study aimed to describe motor (gross and fine motor) and communication (receptive and expressive) skills of very preterm infants at six months of corrected age and their associations, focusing on sitting posture achievement and early vocal production.

The Unsung Heroes: The Profile of the Donor at a Southern Italian Milk Bank and Driving Factors in Human Milk Donation.

Background/objectives: One of the most effective strategies to mitigate morbidity associated with preterm birth is the use of human milk. The first choice is the mother's milk; if that is not available, human milk donated to milk banks is the second choice. The recruitment of milk donors is essential for enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of donation.

Clinical predictors for surfactant retreatment in preterm infants with respiratory distress syndrome: the results of a pooled analysis.

Background: The issue of retreatment with surfactant of infants with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) has been poorly investigated. Our aim was to identify possible clinical predictors of the need for multiple doses of surfactant in a large cohort of very preterm infants.

Methods: Data were analyzed from three previous studies on infants born between 25 and 31 weeks of gestation with RDS who were treated with surfactant.

Night Sleep, Parental Bedtime Practices and Language Development in Low-Risk Preterm and Full-Term Late Talkers: A Longitudinal Study in the Third Year of Life.

: Studies on night sleep and parental bedtime practices and their associations with language development in populations at risk of language delay and neonatal conditions, such as late talkers and preterm children, are scarce. : Our objective was to longitudinally examine the development of night sleep (total night sleep difficulties, settling, night waking, and co-sleeping), parental bedtime practices (total parental bedtime practices, active physical comforting, encouraging autonomy, and leaving to cry), and expressive language (word and sentence production), and their associations in low-risk preterm and full-term late talkers from 31 to 37 months of age. : Parents of 38 late talkers, 19 low-risk preterm and 19 full-term children, completed the Italian versions of the Infant Sleep Questionnaire, the Parental Interactive Bedtime Behavior Scale, and the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory Words and Sentences Long Form.

Evaluation of a perinatal palliative care program by SWOT analysis.

Background: Perinatal Palliative Care (PPC) is individualized medical-nursing care aimed at improving the quality of life of newborns with life-limiting conditions and to support their families. This study draws on the analysis of the experience gained over ten years by a service of PPC called the "Percorso Giacomo" (PG).

Methods: We employed a SWOT analysis to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the PG through a systematic retrospective review of 48 cases followed by the program over the course of 10 years, 21 unsolicited parents' narrative and 27 experts' point of view.

Effect of different tube feeding methods on gastroesophageal reflux features in preterm infants: a pH-impedance monitoring study.

Unlabelled: A stepwise approach is currently considered the best choice to manage gastroesophageal reflux (GER) in preterm infants. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of different tube feeding techniques on GER frequency and features in symptomatic tube-fed preterm neonates. Tube-fed infants < 34 weeks' gestation were eligible for this prospective, bicentric, cross-over study if, due to GER symptoms, they underwent a diagnostic 24-h combined pH and multiple intraluminal impedance (pH-MII) monitoring.

Combining artificial intelligence and conventional statistics to predict bronchopulmonary dysplasia in very preterm infants using routinely collected clinical variables.

Background: Prematurity is the strongest predictor of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). Most previous studies investigated additional risk factors by conventional statistics, while the few studies applying artificial intelligence, and specifically machine learning (ML), for this purpose were mainly targeted to the predictive ability of specific interventions. This study aimed to apply ML to identify, among routinely collected data, variables predictive of BPD, and to compare these variables with those identified through conventional statistics.

Corrigendum: One-carbon pathway metabolites are altered in the plasma of subjects with Down syndrome: relation to chromosomal dosage.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2022.

Zinc metabolism and its role in immunity status in subjects with trisomy 21: chromosomal dosage effect.

Introduction: Trisomy 21 (T21), which causes Down syndrome (DS), is the most common chromosomal aneuploidy in humankind and includes different clinical comorbidities, among which the alteration of the immune system has a heavy impact on patient's lives. A molecule with an important role in immune response is zinc and it is known that its concentration is significantly lower in children with T21. Different hypotheses were made about this metabolic alteration and one of the reasons might be the overexpression of superoxide dismutase 1 () gene, as zinc is part of the SOD1 active enzymatic center.

Lexical skills and gesture use: A comparison between expressive and receptive/expressive late talkers.

Background: Studies on late talkers (LTs) highlighted their heterogeneity and the relevance of describing different communicative profiles.

Aims: To examine lexical skills and gesture use in expressive (E-LTs) vs. receptive-expressive (R/E-LTs) LTs through a structured task.

Maternal singing sustains preterm hospitalized newborns' autonomic nervous system maturation: an RCT.

Background: Premature birth is known to affect the newborn's autonomic nervous system (ANS) maturation, with potential short and long-term impact on their neurobehavioral development. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of maternal directed singing and speaking on the preterm infants' autonomic nervous system (ANS) maturation as measured by the heart rate variability (HRV) parameters.

Methods: In this multi-center randomized clinical trial, 30 stable preterm infants (m = 29,6 weeks of gestational age), without any abnormalities were randomized into an intervention (16) or a control group (14).

Lung UltrasouNd Guided surfactant therapy in preterm infants: an international multicenter randomized control trial (LUNG study).

Background: The management of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in premature newborns is based on different types of non-invasive respiratory support and on surfactant replacement therapy (SRT) to avoid mechanical ventilation as it may eventually result in lung damage. European guidelines currently recommend SRT only when the fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO) exceeds 0.30.

Early-life gut microbiota and neurodevelopment in preterm infants: a narrative review.

Infants born preterm are at a high risk of both gut microbiota (GM) dysbiosis and neurodevelopmental impairment. While the link between early dysbiosis and short-term clinical outcomes is well established, the relationship with long-term infant health has only recently gained interest. Notably, there is a significant overlap in the developmental windows of GM and the nervous system in early life.

Neurodevelopmental Correlates of Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging Abnormalities in Extremely Low-birth-weight Infants.

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between impaired brain growth and structural brain abnormalities at term-equivalent age (TEA) and neurodevelopment in extremely low-birth-weight (ELBW) infants over the first 2 years.

Methods: ELBW infants born from 2009 through 2018 and undergoing brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at TEA were enrolled in this retrospective cohort study. MRI scans were reviewed using a validated quali-quantitative score, including several white and gray matter items.

Neurodevelopmental outcomes of very preterm infants born following early foetal growth restriction with absent end-diastolic umbilical flow.

This study aims to assess the impact of time of onset and features of early foetal growth restriction (FGR) with absent end-diastolic flow (AEDF) on pregnancy outcomes and on preterm infants' clinical and neurodevelopmental outcomes up to 2 years corrected age. This is a retrospective, cohort study led at a level IV Obstetric and Neonatal Unit in Bologna, Italy. Pregnant women were eligible if having singleton pregnancies, with no major foetal anomaly detected, and diagnosed with early FGR + AEDF (defined as FGR + AEDF detected before 32 weeks gestation).

Impact of patent ductus arteriosus on non-invasive assessments of lung fluids in very preterm infants during the transitional period.

This prospective observational study aimed to evaluate whether lung fluids, assessed by lung ultrasonography and transthoracic electrical bioimpedance (TEB), may be influenced by the presence of a haemodynamically significant patent ductus arteriosus (hsPDA) in very preterm infants during the transitional period. Infants < 32 weeks of gestational age (GA) admitted to the neonatal intensive care units of IRCCS AOU Bologna and Niguarda Metropolitan Hospital of Milan (Italy) underwent a daily assessment of a lung ultrasound score (LUS) and of a TEB-derived index of thoracic fluid contents (TFC) during the first 72 h after birth. Echocardiographic scans were simultaneously performed to evaluate the concomitant ductal status (hsPDA vs.

Impact of a newly established expert clinical pharmacological advice programme based on therapeutic drug monitoring results in tailoring antimicrobial therapy hospital-wide in a tertiary university hospital: Findings after the first year of implementation.

Objectives: Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) may be helpful in tailoring antimicrobial treatment, and expert interpretation of the results may make it more clinically useful.

Methods: This study aimed to assess retrospectively the first-year impact (July 2021 to June 2022) of a newly established expert clinical pharmacological advice (ECPA) programme based on TDM results in tailoring therapy with 18 antimicrobials hospital-wide in a tertiary university hospital. All patients having ≥1 ECPA were grouped in five cohorts [haematology, intensive care unit (ICU), paediatrics, medical wards and surgical wards].

Describing communication profiles of low-risk preterm and full-term late talkers.

Introduction: Late talkers represent a heterogeneous population. We aimed to describe communication profiles of low-risk preterm and full-term late talkers according to their receptive and expressive vocabulary size, considering communicative, linguistic, cognitive, and motor skills, as well as biological and environmental risk factors.

Methods: Sixty-eight late talkers (33 born low-risk preterm and 35 full-term) were identified through a language screening at 30 months.

A scoping review of echocardiographic and lung ultrasound biomarkers of bronchopulmonary dysplasia in preterm infants.

Despite recent improvements in neonatal care, moderate to severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is still associated with high mortality and with an increased risk of developing pulmonary hypertension (PH). This scoping review provides an updated overview of echocardiographic and lung ultrasound biomarkers associated with BPD and PH, and the parameters that may prognosticate their development and severity, which could be clinically helpful to undertake preventive strategies. A literature search for published clinical studies was conducted in PubMed using MeSH terms, free-text words, and their combinations obtained through appropriate Boolean operators.

Antenatal and Postnatal Sequelae of Oxidative Stress in Preterm Infants: A Narrative Review Targeting Pathophysiological Mechanisms.

The detrimental effects of oxidative stress (OS) can start as early as after conception. A growing body of evidence has shown the pivotal role of OS in the development of several pathological conditions during the neonatal period, which have been therefore defined as OS-related neonatal diseases. Due to the physiological immaturity of their antioxidant defenses and to the enhanced antenatal and postnatal exposure to free radicals, preterm infants are particularly susceptible to oxidative damage, and several pathophysiological cascades involved in the development of prematurity-related complications are tightly related to OS.

Down Syndrome: how to communicate the diagnosis.

Communicating the diagnosis of Down Syndrome to a couple of parents is never easy, whether before or after birth. As doctors, we must certainly rely on our own relational skills, but it is also necessary to be confident in some general indications, which are often overlooked in the strict hospital routine. This article is intended as a summary of the main articles published on this subject in the international literature, collecting and summarising the most important indications that have emerged in years of medical practice all over the world as well as in our personal experience.

Prediction of respiratory distress severity and bronchopulmonary dysplasia by lung ultrasounds and transthoracic electrical bioimpedance.

This study aims to evaluate whether the assessment of a lung ultrasound score (LUS) by lung ultrasonography and of thoracic fluid contents (TFC) by electrical cardiometry may predict RDS severity and the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in preterm infants with respiratory distress (RDS). Infants ≤ 34 weeks' gestation admitted with RDS to two neonatal intensive care units were prospectively enrolled in this observational study. A simultaneous evaluation of LUS and TFC was performed during the first 72 h.

Night Sleep and Parental Bedtime Practices in Low-Risk Preterm and Full-Term Late Talkers.

Night sleep and parental bedtime practices have rarely been investigated in late talkers. This study aimed to explore: night sleep, parental bedtime practices, and their associations in late talkers as well as individual, socio-demographic, and socio-relational factors affecting them. Parents of 47 30-month-old late talkers, born low-risk preterm ( = 24) or full-term ( = 23), with an expressive vocabulary size ≤10th percentile measured by the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory Words and Sentences, and normal cognitive abilities measured by the Bayley Scales, completed the Infant Sleep Questionnaire, the Parental Interactive Bedtime Behaviour Scale, and the Parenting Stress Index Short Form.