Understanding the current and future usage of donor human milk in hospitals: An online survey of UK neonatal units.

The use of donor human milk (DHM) where there is a shortfall of maternal milk can benefit both infant and maternal outcomes but DHM supply is not always assured. This study aimed to understand current DHM usage in UK neonatal units and potential future demand to inform service planning. An online survey was disseminated to all UK neonatal units using Smart Survey or by telephone between February and April 2022 after development alongside neonatal unit teams.

Preclinical Assessment of Nebulized Surfactant Delivered through Neonatal High Flow Nasal Cannula Respiratory Support.

High-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) is a non-invasive respiratory support (NRS) modality to treat premature infants with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). The delivery of nebulized surfactant during NRS would represent a truly non-invasive method of surfactant administration and could reduce NRS failure rates. However, the delivery efficiency of nebulized surfactant during HFNC has not been evaluated in vitro or in animal models of respiratory distress.

Development of a neonatal adverse event severity scale through a Delphi consensus approach.

Background: Assessment of the seriousness, expectedness and causality are necessary for any adverse event (AE) in a clinical trial. In addition, assessing AE severity helps determine the importance of the AE in the clinical setting. Standardisation of AE severity criteria could make safety information more reliable and comparable across trials.

Enrollment of Neonates in More Than One Clinical Trial.

Because the highest rates of morbidity and mortality in neonates are seen in those born at <32 weeks' gestation, this group has the most urgent need for novel therapies to improve survival and outcome. Legislative efforts in the United States and Europe have attempted to address this issue by requiring the study of drugs, biological and nutritional products, devices, and other therapies in this population through a combination of high-quality regulatory and clinical trials, quality improvement initiatives, and observational studies. Because there are relatively small numbers of very preterm neonates born each year in any 1 country or continent, and because a significant number of clinical trials are recruiting at any 1 time, a neonate may meet enrollment criteria for >1 clinical trial.

Repeated courses of antenatal corticosteroids have adverse effects on aspects of brain development in naturally delivered baboon infants.

Introduction: Repeated courses of antenatal steroids in women at risk of preterm delivery have beneficial effects on lung maturation, but concern exists about the effects on brain development. We aimed to determine whether repeated courses of corticosteroids increased the risk of neuropathology as compared with single courses or no treatment.

Methods: Single-course animals received a 6-mg dose of steroids at 123 and 124 d of gestation (dg; term, 185 dg; n = 6).

Perinatal network consensus guidelines on the resuscitation of extremely preterm infants born at <27 weeks' gestation.

In spite of recent advances in perinatal care and an increase in survival of extremely preterm infants over the last few years, there remains a lack of consensus about practical aspects of resuscitation of extremely preterm infants born before 27 weeks' gestation. With this in the background, the working group of one of the Perinatal Networks in London, UK, set out to conduct a survey to explore the opinions of the doctors and nurses on resuscitation practices of infants born before 27 weeks' gestation, with the aim of developing consensus guidelines. The working group emailed a questionnaire to all neonatal units within the Perinatal Network to seek the views of paediatric medical and nursing staff on resuscitation of infants born at <27 weeks' gestation.

Prophylactic or early selective surfactant combined with nCPAP in very preterm infants.

Objective: Early surfactant followed by extubation to nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) compared with later surfactant and mechanical ventilation (MV) reduce the need for MV, air leaks, and bronchopulmonary dysplasia. This randomized, controlled trial investigated whether prophylactic surfactant followed by nCPAP compared with early nCPAP application with early selective surfactant would reduce the need for MV in the first 5 days of life.

Methods: A total of 208 inborn infants who were born at 25 to 28 weeks' gestation and were not intubated at birth were randomly assigned to prophylactic surfactant or nCPAP within 30 minutes of birth.

Cerebellar development in a baboon model of preterm delivery: impact of specific ventilatory regimes.

Premature infants now have an improved chance of survival, but the impact of respiratory therapies on the brain, particularly the cerebellum, remains unclear. We examined the effects of early nasal continuous positive airway pressure (EnCPAP) ventilation and delayed (Dn) CPAP on the development of the cerebellum in prematurely delivered baboons. The baboons were delivered at 125 +/- 2days of gestation and ventilated for 28 days with either EnCPAP commencing at 24 hours (n = 5) or DnCPAP commencing at 5 days (n = 5).

Delayed extubation to nasal continuous positive airway pressure in the immature baboon model of bronchopulmonary dysplasia: lung clinical and pathological findings.

Objective: Using the 125-day baboon model of bronchopulmonary dysplasia treated with prenatal steroid and exogenous surfactant, we hypothesized that a delay of extubation from low tidal volume positive pressure ventilation to nasal continuous positive airway pressure at 5 days (delayed nasal continuous positive airway pressure group) would not induce more lung injury when compared with baboons aggressively weaned to nasal continuous positive airway pressure at 24 hours (early nasal continuous positive airway pressure group), because both received positive pressure ventilation.

Methods And Results: After delivery by cesarean section at 125 days (term: 185 days), infants received 2 doses of Curosurf (Chiesi Farmaceutica S.p.

Cerebral outcomes in a preterm baboon model of early versus delayed nasal continuous positive airway pressure.

Background: The survival of prematurely born infants has greatly increased in recent decades because of advances in neonatal intensive care, which have included the advent of ventilatory therapies. However, there is limited knowledge as to the impact of these therapies on the developing brain. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the influence of randomized respiratory therapy with either early continuous positive airway pressure or delayed continuous positive airway pressure preceded by positive pressure ventilation on the extent of brain injury and altered development in a prematurely delivered primate model.

Treatment of immature baboons for 28 days with early nasal continuous positive airway pressure.

Using the 125-day baboon model of long-term bronchopulmonary dysplasia, we hypothesized that early use of nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP), a noninvasive ventilatory method, combined with prophylactic surfactant therapy would permit continuation of alveolar and vascular development in the lung. Retrospective human studies have shown that infants treated with nCPAP spend less time on mechanical ventilation and thereby sustain less volutrauma. After delivery by cesarean section at 125 days (term, 185 days), the infants received two doses of surfactant (Curosurf) and daily caffeine citrate.

Continuous positive airway pressure and surfactant; combined data from animal experiments and clinical trials.

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) remains a cause of considerable morbidity for the preterm infant. Ventilation is a primary risk factor. This review discusses the rationale for combining surfactant and nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) using evidence from both clinical and animal studies.