Maternal and infant microbiome and birth anthropometry.

Preterm birth is the leading cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity. Microbiome dysbiosis in the mother and infant may contribute to their adverse outcomes. 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing was performed on all samples.

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Neonatal Sepsis.

Background: Sepsis is a significant health burden in the neonatal population. Although disparities in neonatal care have been reported, there are no data on racial/ethnic disparities in the context of sepsis. Therefore, we aimed to assess racial/ethnic disparities in the prevalence and outcomes of neonatal sepsis.

Caucasian and African American racial disparity in neonatal hospital mortality.

Objective: To examine disparity in hospital mortality among Caucasian (C) and African American (AA) neonates born at different gestational ages (GA).

Methods: De-identified national inpatient data were obtained from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) for the years 2011-2018. We compared the odds ratio for mortality among C and AA infants by sex and GA category.

Neonatal outcomes of preterm infants with in-utero exposure to drugs of substance use: US national data.

Background: Infants exposed prenatally to drugs of substance use are at increased risk for seizures, strabismus, feeding difficulty, and neurodevelopmental delays. Exposed preterm infants may have additional morbidities related to prematurity. There is limited literature on national outcomes of preterm infants exposed to drugs of substance use.

Scoring of brain magnetic resonance imaging and neurodevelopmental outcomes in infants with congenital heart disease.

Background: Advances in surgical techniques to tackle critical congenital heart diseases (CHD) have enhanced the survival rates and life expectancy of children born with heart disease. Studies to better acknowledge their neurodevelopmental trajectory have paramount implications.

Objective: The aim of this study is to examine the nature of brain MRI findings in infants born with critical congenital heart diseases needing intervention in the first 6 months of life, with the help of an MRI scoring system and correlation with long term neurodevelopmental outcomes.

Stroke in pediatric ECMO patients: analysis of the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database.

Background: The rates, outcomes, and long-term trends of stroke complicating the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) have been inconsistently reported. We compared the outcomes of pediatric ECMO patients with and without stroke and described the frequency trends between 2000 and 2017.

Methods: Using the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database, pediatric patients (age ≤18 years) who received ECMO were identified using ICD-9&10 codes.