Fosfluconazole for antifungal prophylaxis in very low birth weight infants.

We conducted a retrospective case series study to evaluate the safety of fosfluconazole prophylaxis for preventing invasive fungal infection in VLBW infants with a central vascular access. Fosfluconazole was administered intravenously at a dose of 6 mg/kg everyday during which time a central venous catheter was placed. A total of 23 infants met the criteria for enrollment in our study.

Effect of transfusion on the venous blood lactate level in very low-birthweight infants.

Background: In recent years the blood lactate level can be easily and quickly measured with a small amount of blood, and the availability of an arterial blood lactate level has been reported as an indicator of oxygen deficit in adults. To determine whether venous blood lactate level can serve as such a marker for determining the indications for transfusion, blood lactate and hemoglobin level were monitored before and after transfusion.

Methods: The study subjects consisted of 12 very low-birthweight infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit and who had transfusion between June 2005 and June 2007.