Novel ultralow positioning of the umbilical artery catheter: A prospective pilot study.

Objective: Thrombosis is a common complication of umbilical artery catheterization. The purpose of this study was to compare the novel ultralow umbilical artery catheter position (catheter tip at the junction of the umbilical and internal iliac arteries) versus the conventional high umbilical artery catheter position (tip in the aorta, above the diaphragm) for the incidence of thrombosis.

Study Design: This study was conducted in a nonacademic, tertiary-referral neonatal center.

Lung Ultrasound Score in Neonatal RDS: Agreement between Sonography Expert and Neonatologists with Varying Levels of Experience.

This study aimed to assess interrater agreement in lung ultrasound scores (LUS) among neonatologists with varying experience levels and an expert sonographer. A post hoc analysis was conducted on data from a prospective multicenter study involving 155 infants born <34 weeks' gestation, all with respiratory distress syndrome. A total of 629 lung scans were performed and video-recorded by 21 point-of-care sonographers, including both experienced (n = 7) and inexperienced (n = 14) evaluators.

Prognostic Relevance of the Lung Ultrasound Score: A Multioutcome Study in Infants with Respiratory Distress Syndrome.

Objective: There is growing evidence for the usefulness of the lung ultrasound score (LUS) in neonatal intensive care. We evaluated whether the LUS is predictive of outcomes in infants with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS).

Study Design: Neonates less than 34 weeks of gestational age were eligible for this prospective, multicenter cohort study.

FiO Before Surfactant, but Not Time to Surfactant, Affects Outcomes in Infants With Respiratory Distress Syndrome.

To establish the impact of oxygen requirement before surfactant (SF) and time from birth to SF administration on treatment outcomes in neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). We conducted a analysis of data from a prospective cohort study of 500 premature infants treated with less invasive surfactant administration (LISA). LISA failure was defined as the need for early (<72 h of life) mechanical ventilation (MV).

Ultrasound Monitoring of Umbilical Catheters in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit-A Prospective Observational Study.

Umbilical catheterization provides a quick yet demanding central line that can lead to complications seen nowhere else. The aim of our study was to determine whether the repeated ultrasound scanning can influence the catheterization time, prevent some of the catheter-related complications, support the decision-making process and allow prolonged catheterization in patients without an alternative central access route. A prospective observational study was performed in a tertiary neonatal intensive care unit.

Modified lung ultrasound score predicts ventilation requirements in neonatal respiratory distress syndrome.

Background: We propose a modified lung ultrasound (LUS) score in neonates with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), which includes posterior instead of lateral lung fields, and a 5-grade rating scale instead of a 4-grade rating scale. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reproducibility of the rating scale and its correlation with blood oxygenation and to assess the ability of early post-birth scans to predict the mode of respiratory support on day of life 3 (DOL 3). As a secondary objective, the weight of posterior scans in the overall LUS score was assessed.

Serum very long-chain fatty acids (VLCFA) levels as predictive biomarkers of diseases severity and probability of survival in peroxisomal disorders.

VLCFA levels correlate with the severity of the clinical course of ZS, DBP and mild ZSD. The best predictive value for estimating the projected disease severity and survival time is a concentration of C26:0.

Umbilical catheters as vectors for generalized bacterial infection in premature infants regardless of antibiotic use.

Umbilical catheterization offers unique vascular access that is only possible in the neonatal setting due to unobstructed umbilical vessels from foetal circulation. With the cut of the umbilical cord, two arteries and a vein are dissected, allowing quick and painless catheterization of the neonate. Unfortunately, keeping the umbilical access sterile is challenging due to its mobility and necrosis of the umbilical stump, which makes it a perfect model for vessel catheter colonization analysis.

Novel mutation-deletion in the gene of the patient diagnosed with Neuroblastoma, Hirschsprung's Disease, and Congenital Central Hypoventilation Syndrome (NB-HSCR-CCHS) Cluster.

Introduction: Neuroblastoma (NB), Hirschsprung disease (HSCR), Congenital Central Hypoventilation Syndrome (CCHS), clinically referred as the NB-HSCR-CCHS cluster, are genetic disorders linked to mutations in the gene on chromosome 4p12.

Specific Aim: The specific aim of this project is to define the gene mutations as the genomic basis for the clinical manifestations of the NB-HSCR-CCHS cluster.

Patient: A one day old male patient presented to the Jagiellonian University Medical College (JUMC), American Children Hospital, neonatal Intensive Care Unit (ICU) due to abdominal distention, vomiting, and severe apneic episodes.

Sonographic findings in a neonate with Cobb syndrome.

Cobb syndrome (cutaneomeningospinal angiomatosis) is a rare phacomatosis characterized by vascular abnormality of the spinal cord associated with a vascular naevus at the same metamere. We report the case of a newborn with Cobb syndrome, diagnosed by sonography of the spine and later confirmed by MRI. In neonates and young infants with dermatomal cutaneous vascular abnormalities, sonography of the spine should be used as the first imaging modality.

[Respiratory syncytial virus prophylaxis among preterm infants--four seasons' experience].

Background: Respiratory syncitial virus (RSV) is the main reason of hospitalizations due to respiratory tract infection in children within the first year of life. The course of infection is more severe in children from a risk group, which includes children who were born preterm, these with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), children with heart defects significantly influencing their hemodynamics, and immunocompromised children. Palivizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody class IgG-1 used to prevent RSV infection.

Can early echocardiographic findings predict patent ductus arteriosus?

Background: Prophylactic treatment with prostaglandin synthetase inhibitors (PSI) is potentially harmful. Moreover, long-term benefits of prophylactic use of indomethacin or ibuprofen are not proven. Early treatment of a high-risk population is alternative to the routine prophylactic use of PSI, but it remains unclear which newborn is at greatest risk for patent ductus arteriosus (PDA).

Association between X-linked lissencephaly with ambiguous genitalia syndrome and lenticulostriate vasculopathy in neonate.

X-linked lissencephaly with ambiguous genitalia syndrome (XLAG) (OMIM #3000215) is a rare, severe malformation of the brain cortex with abnormal neuronal migration caused by mutations of the ARX gene. All the reported patients with lissencephaly are males who presented with a posterior-to-anterior gradient, moderately increased thickness of the brain cortex, agenesis of corpus callosum, micropenis, and cryptorchidism. We describe the neurosonographic findings associated with the XLAG syndrome.

[Influence of the lactose free and lactose containing diet on prevalence of gram-negative sepsis and feeding intolerance in very low birth weight infants: double-blind randomized trial].

Objective: VLBW infants have a developmental lactase deficiency in the gut. The aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of lactose containing and lactose free diets on prevalence of feeding intolerance and Gram negative sepsis in VLBW infants.

Methods: 80 newborns with mean (+/- SEM) birth weight 1091 +/- 25 g and gestational age 28.

[Diagnostic and prognostic reliability of interleukin-10 measurements in very low birth weight infants with late-onset sepsis].

Background: There exists little data on releasing Interleukin-10 (IL-10) and on the clinical usefulness of its measurements in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants.

Aim: The evaluation of diagnostic and prognostic reliability of IL-10 measurement in VLBW infants with sepsis.

Methods: 87 newborns with the median birth weight (BW) 1060 g and median gestational age (GA) 28 wks were divided into 3 groups: A) with no clinical signs of sepsis in the first month of life-control group (n = 28), B) with clinical signs of sepsis but with negative blood cultures (n = 13), and C) with clinically and microbiologically confirmed sepsis (n = 46).

[Blood gases values forecasting by artificial neural network in prematurely born infants with respiratory distress].

Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) are modern tools for data analysis. They can compete with commonly used statistical methods. Till the date they were not used for modeling continuous parameters in medicine.

[Thanatophoric dysplasia: three patients hospitalized in PAIP in 1994-2000].

Background: Thanatophoric dwarfism is a lethal bone dysplasia causing severe disturbance in body proportions, shortening and deformation of the long bones and maldevelopment of the chest leading to severe respiratory failure and early death. The disease is caused usually by de novo mutation in the gene of fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3). Inheritance is autosomal dominant.