Can the CHOP-INTEND be used as An Outcome Measure in the First Months of Age? Implications for Clinical Trials and Real World Data.

Background: The CHOP-INTEND is an established outcome measure used to assess motor function in young and weak SMA patients previously validated in type I infants older than 3 months.

Objective: The aim of our study was to assess the maturation of the CHOP-INTEND scores in a group of healthy infants, establishing which items of the scale can be reliably used in individuals younger than 3 months.

Methods: This is a prospective observational study.

Assessing floppy infants: a new module.

Unlabelled: Our aim was to develop a new module for assessing the floppy infant, to describe the application of the module in a cohort of low-risk newborns and piloting the module in a cohort of floppy infants. The module was applied to a cohort of 143 low-risk newborns and piloted in in a cohort of 24 floppy infants. The new add-on module includes a neurological section and provides a section for recording information obtained by physical examination and antenatal history.

Spyramicine and Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole Combination to Prevent Mother-To-Fetus Transmission of Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Pregnant Women: A 28-Years Single-center Experience.

Background: There is weak evidence on the best treatment of pregnant women with Toxoplasma gondii infection to prevent the vertical transmission to the fetus.

Methods: We conducted a 28-year retrospective study aiming to compare the efficacy of three therapeutic regimens [Spiramicyn alone (Spy) vs. Pyrimethamine-Sulfadiazine (P/S) vs.

Correction to: Unexpected tracheal agenesis with prenatal diagnosis of aortic coarctation, lung hyperecogenicity and polyhydramnios: a case report.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.

Long-Term Clinical, Audiological, Visual, Neurocognitive and Behavioral Outcome in Children With Symptomatic and Asymptomatic Congenital Cytomegalovirus Infection Treated With Valganciclovir.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the most common cause of congenital infection in humans. There are no enough data on long-term outcome of newborns with congenital CMV (cCMV) infection, particularly for those asymptomatic at birth. For this reason, we performed this study to evaluate long-term audiological, visual, neurocognitive, and behavioral outcome in patients with symptomatic and asymptomatic cCMV infection treated with oral Valganciclovir (VGC).

Unexpected tracheal agenesis with prenatal diagnosis of aortic coarctation, lung hyperecogenicity and polyhydramnios: a case report.

Background: Tracheal agenesis (TA) is a rare disorder usually diagnosed prenatally when a congenital high airway obstruction syndrome (CHAOS) is identified. We present a case of unexpected TA in a neonate without prenatal diagnosis of airway obstruction, with a difficult management at birth. Moreover, we discuss about differential diagnosis, classification and treatment issues.

Neonatal neurological examination of late preterm babies.

Backgrounds: Healthy late-preterm (LP) infants examined at term equivalent age showed wider median and range of neurological scores than full-term infants; differences between infants born at 34 and those born at 35-36 weeks were also observed.

Aims: The aim of this study is to establish the range and frequency distribution of neonatal neurological scores in a cohort of low risk LP infants assessed during the first 3 days from birth.

Study Design And Subjects: 118 low-risk infants born between 34 and 36 weeks of gestational age (GA) were assessed between 48 and 72 h from birth.

Neonatal outcome in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.

Background: Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy account for increased perinatal morbidity and mortality when compared to uneventful gestations.

Aims: To analyze perinatal outcome of pregnancies complicated by different kinds of hypertension to uncomplicated pregnancies in a series of Italian women and to compare our data with series from other countries.

Study Design: The sample was divided into four groups of hypertensive women: chronic hypertension (CH), gestational hypertension (GH), preeclampsia (PE), and chronic hypertension complicated by preeclampsia (CHPE).

Visual, motor and perceptual abilities at school age in children with isolated mild antenatal ventricular dilatation.

Background: The detection of prenatal ventriculomegaly raises anxiety about possible neurological sequelae. A few studies have investigated possible neurodevelopmental sequelae in the first years after birth but no systematic assessment has been performed at school age.

Aims: The aim of this study was to assess minor neurological signs, perceptual and visual function in a cohort of children with isolated mild antenatal ventricular dilatation examined at school age.

A severe case of intracranial hemorrhage due to alloimmune thrombocytopenia.

Alloimmune thrombocytopenia (AIT) is an important cause of intrauterine hemorrhagic lesions that result from platelet-antigen incompatibility between mother and foetus. Foetal platelets are destroyed by cross-reactive maternal antibodies that cross the placenta. The most serious complication of AIT is foetal intracranial bleeding that may eventually result in intrauterine death or severe neurological impairments.

Neurological examination of preterm infants at term equivalent age.

Background: We previously reported the neurological findings of the Dubowitz neonatal examination in a cohort of 157 low-risk preterms born between 25 and 33 weeks gestational age (GA) and examined at term equivalent age (TEA). Median and range of scores were wider than those found in term-born infants and preterms showed a different neurological behaviour in specific items. However, the cohort number was too small to draw any definitive conclusion about the distribution of findings.

Infants born to mothers with anti-SSA/Ro autoantibodies: neonatal outcome and follow-up.

Neonatal lupus syndrome is considered a model of passively acquired autoimmune disease. The first 10 newborns born to mothers with connective tissue disease and positive for anti-SSA/Ro antibodies enrolled in a follow-up program to evaluate the incidence of cardiac, hepatobiliary, hematologic, echoencephalographic, and cutaneous manifestations until 9 months of age are described in this study. No congenital heart block was observed, but only transient rhythm alterations were observed.

Visual development in infants with prenatal post-haemorrhagic ventricular dilatation.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess visual function in 13 infants with evidence of prenatal post haemorrhagic ventricular dilatation.

Design: Infants were assessed at 5, 12 and 24 months using a battery of tests specifically designed to assess various aspects of visual function in infancy. Visual findings were correlated with several variables, including extent of the lesion and presence of epilepsy.

Thalamic atrophy in infants with PVL and cerebral visual impairment.

The aim of this retrospective study was to establish the presence and severity of cerebral visual impairment in preterm infants with PVL. We also wished to establish whether abnormalities of visual function are related to brain MRI findings and more specifically not only to the involvement of optic radiations and occipital cortex but also to changes in the thalami, that are often affected in infants with PVL. Twelve infants with cystic PVL were assessed at 1 year (+2) corrected age with a battery of tests specifically designed to assess various aspects of visual function in infancy, such as ocular movements, visual acuity, visual fields and fixation shift.

Prognostic value of EEG performed at term age in preterm infants.

Rationale: Electroencephalography (EEG) was performed at term age on 32 infants born prematurely (25-32 weeks). EEG was assessed looking for overall background activity and transients.

Methods: A quantitative analysis was performed, selecting 5-min epochs of "tracé alternant" free of artefacts during quiet sleep.

Neurologic examination of preterm infants at term age: comparison with term infants.

Objectives: The aim was to establish the range of neurologic findings in preterm infants reaching term age, their relation to gestational age at birth, and the possible differences with healthy term newborns tested during the first days of life.

Study Design: The Dubowitz neonatal neurologic examination was performed at term age in 157 low-risk preterm infants born between 25 and 34 weeks' gestation who had cranial ultrasonograms that were normal or showed minor abnormalities. Infants were subdivided in 3 groups according to their gestational age at birth.

Controlled trial of early dexamethasone treatment for the prevention of chronic lung disease in preterm infants: a 3-year follow-up.

Objective: There is increasing concern in regard to the possible long-term adverse effects of postnatal dexamethasone treatment in preterm infants. The purpose of this study was to assess growth and neurodevelopmental outcome in preterm infants at high risk of chronic lung disease (CLD), treated with early (<96 hours) postnatal dexamethasone.

Design: Three-year follow-up data of physical growth and neurodevelopmental outcome of preterm infants enrolled in a controlled trial to study the effectiveness of early postnatal dexamethasone administration for the prevention of CLD were reviewed.