The Maimonides Model for a Regimen of Health: A Comparison with the Contemporary Scenario.

Rabbi Moses Ben Maimon, known as Maimonides, or The "Rambam" (a Hebrew acronym for his name), was one of the greatest arbiters of all times on matters of Jewish law, one of the greatest philosophers of the Middle Ages, a scientist, and a researcher. In addition, he was a court physician to the Egyptian Sultan. In addition to his monumental work on Jewish law and ethics, his writings on medicine have been considered classics over the generations.

Containment of a Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Outbreak in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Background: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has emerged as a challenging nosocomial pathogen in the last 50 years.

Objectives: To describe an investigation and containment of an MRSA outbreak in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Methods: Our NICU is a 25-bed level III unit.

Performing red reflex eye examinations increases the rate of neonatal conjunctivitis.

Aim: Red reflex eye examinations often require opening the eyelids, risking infection. We evaluated links between this procedure and neonatal conjunctivitis.

Methods: We divided 18 872 neonates of more than 35 weeks of gestation into two birth periods, 2008-2009 and 2010-2011, before and after red reflex examinations were carried out by our facility.

[The effect of maternal medications, hypertension/pre-eclamptic toxemia and diabetes mellitus on neonatal hearing screening].

Background: The effects of maternal medications and disease on neonatal hearing screening have scarcely been investigated.

Objective: To verify the effect of maternal medications and disease during gestation on the results of the first otoacoustic emissions (OAE) test.

Methods: We recorded perinatal and hearing screening data, medications during pregnancy and Labor (119 kinds of medication), hypertension/pre-eclamptic toxemia (HTN/PET) and diabetes mellitus (DM).

Fetal reduction in triplet gestations: twins still fare better.

Background: Reduction of fetal number has been offered in high order multiple gestations but is still controversial in triplets. Since recent advances in neonatal and obstetric care have greatly improved outcome, the benefits of multifetal pregnancy reduction (MFPR) may no longer exist in triplet gestations.

Objectives: To evaluate if fetal reduction of triplets to twins improves outcome.

Impact of gestational age on neonatal hearing screening in vaginally-born late-preterm and early-term infants.

Background: Late-preterm and early-term (LP-ET) infants, defined herein as 35(0)-37(6) weeks' gestation, often fail on 1st otoacoustic emissions (OAE) test.

Hypothesis: LP-ET infants fail more than term infants (38(0)-42 weeks' gestation) on the 1st OAE test. Aim : To evaluate the effect of gestational age on the 1st OAE test.

Triplet pregnancies--a three-decade perspective: do we fare better?

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of advances in perinatal and neonatal care in the past three decades on the outcome of triplet pregnancies.

Study Design: We compared the outcome of 29 sets of triplets born in our medical center during 1978-1987 with 34 sets of triplets born in the same medical center during 2001-2011. Data were extracted from maternal and neonatal medical records.

Delayed first otoacoustic emissions test decreases failure on neonatal hearing screening after caesarean delivery.

Aim: Caesarean delivery (CD) was associated with a 3.2-fold higher failure on 1st otoacoustic emissions (OAE) hearing test. We aimed to verify whether postponing 1st OAE beyond 48 h in CD infants decreases hearing screening failure.

Heart rate dynamics during acute pain in newborns.

Autonomic nervous system modulation of heart rate is significantly altered during painful procedures in newborns. Most studies investigating pain employed only linear-based analysis methods, thus ignoring the complex, non-linear nature of heart rate control mechanisms. The emergences of dynamic, nonlinear analysis methods enable us to uncover information embedded in the fluctuations of heart rate not otherwise noticeable.

Factors associated with iatrogenesis in neonatal intensive care units: an observational multicenter study.

The objective of our study was to assess factors associated with iatrogenic events in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs). This was a retrospective analysis based on a cohort of patients who participated in our previous prospective study (Pediatrics 122:550-555, 2008), conducted in four tertiary university-affiliated NICUs in Israel, that included all consecutive infants (n = 615) hospitalized during the study period. Ongoing monitoring of iatrogenic events was performed by designated "iatrogenesis advocates.

Doppler middle cerebral artery peak systolic velocity for diagnosis of neonatal anemia.

Objectives: The peak systolic velocity (PSV) of the middle cerebral artery was found to be predictive of fetal anemia and is routinely applied in the treatment of such fetuses. Our objective was to determine whether a correlation exists between the PSV in the neonatal middle cerebral artery and hemoglobin levels for possible future implementation in clinical practice.

Methods: A prospective study on 151 neonates was conducted, examining their middle cerebral artery PSV concomitantly with their hemoglobin level during the first 36 hours after delivery.

Birth by cesarean delivery and failure on first otoacoustic emissions hearing test.

Background: Neonatal hearing screening occasionally fails. We noticed that infants born by cesarean delivery (CD) appeared to fail the first otoacoustic emissions (OAE) test more frequently than infants delivered vaginally (VD). This might increase maternal anxiety.

Transient abnormal fetal cardiac flow patterns at 13 to 17 gestational weeks.

Objective: To report the outcome of transient abnormal cardiac flow patterns (ABCFP) at 13 to 17 weeks' gestation.

Methods And Results: Observational single operator study of transvaginal sonography scans of 13,183 fetuses. Of the 22 fetuses with ABCFP (1:600) high pulmonary valvular velocity was detected in 11 (8 of them transient), an abnormal blood flow in the coronary region in 6, mitral regurgitation in 3, and high aortic valvular velocity in 2 cases.