Efficacy of a strategy to prevent neonatal early-onset group B streptococcal (GBS) sepsis.

Background: Existing guidelines recommend different strategies to prevent early-onset neonatal GBS sepsis. In 1997, using our own data on incidence and risk factors, we established a new prevention strategy which includes GBS screening at 36 weeks' gestation and intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis (IAP) in women with positive or unknown GBS colonization with at least one risk factor. The present study evaluates the efficacy of the new prevention strategy.

Vaccination rate and age of premature infants weighing <1500 g: a pilot study in north-western Switzerland.

Unlabelled: In Switzerland, there are no special vaccination recommendations for premature and low-birthweight infants with respect to a particular target vaccination age. Incomplete and delayed vaccination bears the inherent risk of preventable infections. Therefore, the vaccination rate and age of 60 premature infants in north-western Switzerland born in 1994/95 were investigated in a retrospective case-control study.

Pregnancy and lactation in homozygous beta-thalassemia major.

Successful pregnancies in patients with transfusion-dependent homozygous beta-thalassemia major are rare. We report the course of a pregnancy and newborn data during lactation and desferrioxamine therapy in the mother. The twin-pregnancy was complicated by preeclampsia.

[Combined esophageal atresia and duodenal stenosis in polyhydramnios. Ante-, peri- and postpartum management].

Based on a case report of a duodenal atresia, diagnosed by ultrasound in the 30th week of gestation, the antenatal investigations and therapeutic proposals are demonstrated. Moreover the postapartal development with the extended diagnosis of an esophageal atresia as well as the early operative management are discussed.

Congenital tetraplegia, respiratory insufficiency, and hypoplasia of medulla oblongata.

A term infant with normal delivery presented with congenital tetraplegia and respiratory insufficiency just after birth. Magnetic resonance tomography on days 8 and 72 of life revealed an extreme thinning of the lower medulla oblongata. Endoscopy confirmed this and demonstrated the presence of vascular anomalies around the lesion which were not detectable by angiography.

[Children of drug-dependent mothers--personal experiences and review of the literature].

The increasing incidence of drug abuse in central Europe leads to a growing number of children with intrauterine drug exposure. During pregnancy various risks affect these children. Postnatally severe symptoms of withdrawal are observed frequently.

Familial congenital diaphragmatic defect: transmission from father to daughter.

The first well-documented incidences of familial congenital diaphragmatic defects in two generations are reported. The transmission was from father to daughter; both cases showed an almost identical history. These findings are supporting the proposed multifactorial inheritance theory.

A comparative study of two different percutaneous venous catheters in newborn infants.

Between 1985 and 1988 the use of percutaneous venous catheters in the intensive care of newborn infants was evaluated. A total of 140 polyurethane catheters used in 91 patients were compared with 143 silicone catheters in 121 neonates. Patients of both series were comparable regarding sex, weight, gestational age and severity of disease.

[Feeding very small premature infants with concentrated breast milk].

The use of concentrated breast milk was prospectively studied in 26 very small premature babies with a birth weight of 1,010-1,500 g. 57 premature babies of the same birth weight group born in the two preceding years and fed normal pooled breast milk served as a control group. Fresh breast milk was enriched using lyophilized breast milk yielding a calory content of 103 cal/100 ml.

Aberrant umbilical vein.

In a female premature baby an aberrant umbilical vein was identified after catheterization of the umbilical vessels. This rare variation of the umbilical vessels consists of a connection between the umbilical vein and the inferior vena cava.

[Development over 10 years of children with birth weight less than 1501 g].

170 Children born between 1971 and 73 and hospitalised at the neonatal intensive care unit of the Hospital for Children of the University of Basel because of very low birth weight and/or IRDS are re-examined at the age of 10 years. First analyses show high mortality amongst the children with very low birth weight (38% of 122 died up to the age of 10 years) and a physical development (weight and height) below that of a representative sample of children of the same age.

Successful conservative management of a solitary liver abscess in a premature baby.

A case report of a very small premature baby with a solitary intrahepatic abscess is presented. The diagnosis was suspected by the presence of a gas bubble on plain X-ray and confirmed by ultrasonography. Conservative therapy was successful.

[Transcutaneous bilirubin determination in the newborn infant. Recommendations of the Swiss Neonatology Group].

The clinical usefulness of transcutaneous bilirubinometry with the Minolta-Air Shield bilirubinometer was evaluated at four obstetrical neonatology units (Basle, Berne, Lucerne and Zurich). Transcutaneous bilirubin (TcB), expressed as bilirubin index, was compared with simultaneous serum bilirubin estimations in healthy Caucasians babies born at term with a birth weight of more than 2500 g. TcB measured over the forehead: 926 determinations in 629 newborns.

Acylureido penicillins in neonatal intensive care. Preliminary communication.

The antimicrobial sensitivity of 232 bacteria isolated from patients in a newborn intensive care unit was tested. Practically all organisms were sensitive to a combination of mezlocillin-aminoglycoside; a few were resistant to azlocillin-aminoglycoside. Eighteen patients, all severely ill, were treated with the combination acylureidopenicillin-aminoglycoside.

Systematic follow-up of newborns with idiopathic respiratory distress syndrome. Results in 197 patients born 1971 to 1976.

347 patients with idiopathic respiratory distress syndrome, born 1971 to 1976, were included into a prospective follow-up study. 71 patients (20%) died in the neonatal period, 197 out of 276 survivors (71%) had a complete follow-up for the first year of life, 112 survivors have so far been investigated up to the age of four years. According to neurological findings the patients were classified as normal, doubtful (age 6-12 months) or minimal brain dysfunction (4 years), mild cerebral paresis (CP), or severe cerebral damage, respectively.