Induction of human neonatal pulmonary fibroblast cytokines by hyperoxia and Ureaplasma urealyticum.

Multiple insults may induce bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in premature infants, including the recently reported association of BPD with neonatal Ureaplasma urealyticum colonization. One mechanism of damage could involve stimulation of proinflammatory cytokine release from pulmonary fibroblasts. We therefore compared the effects of U.

Surfactant lavage in a piglet model of meconium aspiration syndrome.

Meconium aspiration continues to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality in newborn infants and is one of the most common indications for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Lab studies have suggested that meconium inactivates surfactant and displaces surfactant from the alveolar surface. A recent report has suggested a clinical role for surfactant therapy in human infants with meconium aspiration.

Heart disease presenting in the first week of life: implications of advances in diagnosis and management since 1973.

The spectra of congenital heart diseases presenting in the first week of life - diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis - were analyzed in a recent series and compared with a series 9 years earlier. Eighty percent of all infants aged 0 to 7 days referred to the pediatric cardiology service in these series had actual cardiovascular defects; 42% had critical cardiovascular disease. Use of echocardiography in the neonate with suspected congenital heart disease increased from 0 to 82% in the 9-year period, whereas, frequency of cardiac catheterization decreased.