Effectiveness of reaching and maintaining therapeutic hypothermia target temperature using low-cost devices in newborns with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy.

Therapeutic hypothermia (TH) using servo-controlled cooling devices has proved to be a safe and effective method to reduce mortality and sequelae in neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). However, such cooling devices can be expensive and have limited availability in low- and middle-income countries. To evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of low-cost cooling devices (ice packs) to reach and maintain the target temperature in newborns with moderate or severe HIE.

Joint attention abilities in Brazilian preterm and full-term infants.

Joint attention abilities of preterm and full-term Brazilian infants were assessed at 12- and 18-months, age corrected for prematurity. Results showed that preterm infants displayed significantly lower levels of correct responses to others' bids for joint attention at both time-points, compared to full-term infants. Both groups improved their responding to joint attention from 12 to 18 months of age.

Auditory processing abilities in prematurely born children.

Unlabelled: Aim To compare the performance in temporal auditory ordering and resolution tests and the latency and amplitude in the records of middle latency auditory evoked potential and P3 of prematurely born children with the performance of full-term children undergoing the same assessment protocol.

Study Design: Cross-sectional observational study.

Subjects: Fifty-two children, aged 8 to 10 years, participated in the study and were divided into two groups: study group: 16 prematurely born children, and control group: 36 born full-term, at low risk for developmental alteration and without scholastic or hearing difficulties.

Painful procedures and analgesia in the NICU: what has changed in the medical perception and practice in a ten-year period?

Objective: To compare the use of analgesia versus neonatologists' perception regarding analgesic use in painful procedures in the years 2001, 2006, and 2011.

Methods: This was a prospective cohort study of all newborns admitted to four university neonatal intensive care units during one month in 2001, 2006, and 2011. The frequency of analgesic prescription for painful procedures was evaluated.

Neuroprotective body hypothermia among newborns with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy: three-year experience in a tertiary university hospital. A retrospective observational study.

Context And Objective: Neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Studies have shown that therapeutic hypothermia decreases neurological sequelae and death. Our aim was therefore to report on a three-year experience of therapeutic hypothermia among asphyxiated newborns.

Insulin-like growth factor 1 gene (CA)n repeats and a variable number of tandem repeats of the insulin gene in Brazilian children born small for gestational age.

Objective: To investigate the influence of (CA)n repeats in the insulin-like growth factor 1 gene and a variable number of tandem repeats of the insulin gene on birth size in children who are small or adequate-sized for gestational age and to correlate these polymorphisms with serum insulin-like growth factor 1 levels and insulin sensitivity in children who are small for gestational age, with and without catch-up growth.

Patients And Methods: We evaluated 439 infants: 297 that were adequate-sized for gestational age and 142 that were small for gestational age (66 with and 76 without catch-up). The number of (CA)n repeat in the insulin-like growth factor 1 gene and a variable number of tandem repeats in the insulin gene were analyzed using GENESCAN software and polymerase chain reaction followed by enzymatic digestion, respectively.

Polymorphisms identified in the upstream core polyadenylation signal of IGF1 gene exon 6 do not cause pre- and postnatal growth impairment.

Background: Few children born small for gestational age (SGA) with IGF1 mutations have been reported. One of these patients presented a mutation at 3' untranslated region (UTR) at exon 6, probably affecting the polyadenylation process.

Objective: The objective of the study was to sequence the IGF1 gene of children born SGA.

[The frequency of pharmacological pain relief in university neonatal intensive care units].

Objective: To evaluate the use of drugs to relieve procedural pain of newborn infants hospitalized in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) of university hospitals.

Methods: A prospective cohort study of all newborn infants hospitalized in four NICU during October 2001. The following data were collected: demographic data of patients; clinical morbidity; number of potentially painful procedures and frequency of analgesic administration.