Publications by authors named "Niermeyer S"

Importance: Providing assisted ventilation during delayed umbilical cord clamping may improve outcomes for extremely preterm infants.

Objective: To determine whether assisted ventilation in extremely preterm infants (23 0/7 to 28 6/7 weeks' gestational age [GA]) followed by cord clamping reduces intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) or early death.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This phase 3, 1:1, parallel-stratified randomized clinical trial conducted at 12 perinatal centers across the US and Canada from September 2, 2016, through February 21, 2023, assessed IVH and early death outcomes of extremely preterm infants randomized to receive 120 seconds of assisted ventilation followed by cord clamping vs delayed cord clamping for 30 to 60 seconds with ventilatory assistance afterward.

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Article Synopsis
  • The 2023 update on neonatal resuscitation guidelines is informed by four extensive systematic reviews managed by the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation Neonatal Life Support Task Force.
  • The reviews focused on key topics such as umbilical cord management for different types of newborns and the best devices for providing ventilation during resuscitation.
  • New recommendations include practices like umbilical cord milking and guidelines on selecting appropriate devices for effective positive-pressure ventilation.
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Article Synopsis
  • - This 2023 update to neonatal resuscitation guidelines is based on recent systematic reviews conducted by a specialized task force focused on newborn care.
  • - The task force reviewed scientific literature regarding umbilical cord management for different types of newborns, as well as devices for providing positive-pressure ventilation during resuscitation.
  • - New recommendations include guidance on milking intact umbilical cords, choosing the right devices for ventilation, and introducing an additional primary interface for resuscitation.
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Most recommendations on cardiopulmonary resuscitation were developed from the perspective of high-resource settings with the aim of applying them in these settings. These so-called international guidelines are often not applicable in low-resource settings. Organisations including the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) have not sufficiently addressed this problem.

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  • The study aimed to compare heart rate patterns of vigorous newborns during the first 180 seconds after birth based on whether they received early cord clamping (ECC) or delayed cord clamping (DCC).* -
  • The research included 610 vaginally-born babies and found that the heart rate was more stable with DCC (median HR around 170 bpm) compared to a significant increase with ECC (from 169 to 184 bpm), along with a higher incidence of bradycardia in ECC cases.* -
  • The findings suggest that DCC is preferable, as it is associated with less heart instability and a lower risk of bradycardia compared to ECC.*
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The majority of perinatal and neonatal mortality occurs in low-resource settings in low- and middle-income countries. Access and quality of care at delivery are major determinants of the health and survival of newborn infants. Availability of basic neonatal resuscitation care at birth has improved, but basic neonatal resuscitation at birth or high-quality care continues to be inaccessible in some settings, leading to persistently high perinatal and neonatal mortality.

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Purpose Of Review: For over a decade, the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation has recommended delayed cord clamping (DCC), but implementation has been variable due to lack of consensus on details of technique and concerns for risks in certain patient populations. This review summarizes recent literature on the benefits and risks of DCC in term and preterm infants and examines alternative approaches such as physiologic-based cord clamping or intact cord resuscitation (ICR) and umbilical cord milking (UCM).

Recent Findings: DCC improves hemoglobin/hematocrit among term infants and may promote improved neurodevelopment.

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Article Synopsis
  • The International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) conducted a review of recent cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) science, summarizing significant findings from the past year in their fifth annual report.
  • This summary highlights systematic reviews on various topics, such as video-based dispatch systems, new CPR techniques, and the effectiveness of devices used during neonatal resuscitation.
  • Experts from six ILCOR task forces evaluated the evidence quality, offering consensus treatment recommendations and identifying areas where more research is needed.
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Article Synopsis
  • The International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation has conducted a continuous review of new cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) research, resulting in its fifth annual summary, which builds on a more detailed review from 2020.
  • The latest summary presents the most recent evidence on various resuscitation topics, such as video-based dispatch systems, CPR techniques for different patient positions, and family presence during neonatal resuscitation.
  • The committee's task forces have evaluated the quality of evidence using established grading criteria and made consensus treatment recommendations while also identifying priority gaps for future research.
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  • Stimulation of non-crying neonates after birth with an intact umbilical cord increases the likelihood of spontaneous breathing compared to stimulation with a clamped cord.
  • In a study of 3,073 non-crying neonates in Nepal, those with intact cords showed a higher percentage of spontaneous breathing (81.1% vs 68.9%) and required less bag-and-mask ventilation (18.0% vs 32.4%).
  • The findings suggest that keeping the cord intact during stimulation may improve outcomes in apnoeic neonates, but further research is needed to confirm these results and address potential confounding variables.
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Objective: Investigate whether safe infant sleep prioritization by states through the Title V Maternal and Child Block Grant in 2010 differentially impacted maternal report of supine sleep positioning (SSP) for Non-Hispanic White (NHW) and Non-Hispanic Black (NHB) U.S.-born infants.

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Background: Annually, 14 million newborns require stimulation to initiate breathing at birth and 6 million require bag-mask-ventilation (BMV). Many countries have invested in facility-based neonatal resuscitation equipment and training. However, there is no consistent tracking for neonatal resuscitation coverage.

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Objective: To assess trends in racial disparity in supine sleep positioning (SSP) across racial/ethnic groups of infants born early preterm (Early preterm; <34 weeks) and late preterm (Late preterm; 34-36 weeks) from 2000 to 2015.

Study Design: We analyzed Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System data (a population-based perinatal surveillance system) from 16 US states from 2000 to 2015 (Weighted N = 1 020 986). Marginal prevalence of SSP by year was estimated for infants who were early preterm and late preterm, adjusting for maternal and infant characteristics.

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Context: The International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation prioritized scientific review of umbilical cord management at term and late preterm birth.

Objective: To assess effects of umbilical cord management strategies (clamping timing and cord milking) in infants ≥34 weeks' gestational age.

Data Sources: Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Medline, PubMed, Embase, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and trial registries searched July 2019.

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The Helping Babies Breathe Global Development Alliance (GDA) was a public-private partnership created simultaneously with the launch of the educational program Helping Babies Breathe to accelerate dissemination and implementation of neonatal resuscitation in low- and middle-income countries with the goal of reducing the global burden of neonatal mortality and morbidity related to birth asphyxia. Representatives from 6 organizations in the GDA highlight the recognized needs that motivated their participation and how they built on one another's strengths in resuscitation science and education, advocacy, frontline implementation, health system strengthening, and implementation research to achieve common goals. Contributions of time, talent, and financial resources from the community, government, and private corporations and foundations powered an initiative that transformed the landscape for neonatal resuscitation in low- and middle-income countries.

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Helping Babies Breathe (HBB) changed global education in neonatal resuscitation. Although rooted in the technical and educational expertise underpinning the American Academy of Pediatrics' Neonatal Resuscitation Program, a series of global collaborations and pivotal encounters shaped the program differently. An innovative neonatal simulator, graphic learning materials, and content tailored to address the major causes of neonatal death in low- and middle-income countries empowered providers to take action to help infants in their facilities.

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Infection and asphyxia are two major causes of neonatal death globally. Where single-use resuscitation devices or sterilization of re-usable devices are unavailable, there is a need for effective, low-cost methods of high-level disinfection. Laboratory validation examined the efficacy of boiling and enclosed steaming (without pressure) as methods for attaining high-level disinfection of re-usable neonatal resuscitation equipment.

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Objective: To describe perinatal and neonatal outcomes in newborns exposed to SARS-CoV-2.

Methods: A systematic review was conducted by searching PubMed Central, LILACS, and Google Scholar using the keywords 'covid ' AND 'newborn' OR 'child' OR 'infant,' on 18 March 2020, and again on 17 April 2020. One researcher conducted the search and extracted data on demographics, maternal outcomes, diagnostic tests, imaging, and neonatal outcomes.

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Achieving the targets of the Every Newborn Action Plan by the year 2030 will require accelerating the current reduction in neonatal mortality. Educational programs addressing the three major causes of neonatal death - intrapartum-related events (asphyxia), prematurity and small size at birth, and infection - have the potential to significantly reduce preventable mortality. Helping Babies Breathe is an example of an educational program that not only has given health care providers around the world access to current resuscitation science but has changed provider behavior and patient outcomes and resulted in perinatal quality improvement in small- and large-scale trials.

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