Clostridia in premature neonates' gut: incidence, antibiotic susceptibility, and perinatal determinants influencing colonization.

Background: Although premature neonates (PN) gut microbiota has been studied, data about gut clostridial colonization in PN are scarce. Few studies have reported clostridia colonization in PN whereas Bacteroides and bifidobacteria have been seldom isolated. Such aberrant gut microbiota has been suggested to be a risk factor for the development of intestinal infections.

Urinary citrulline in very low birth weight preterm infants receiving intravenous nutrition.

As gut immaturity precludes full enteral feeding, very low birth weight (VLBW) preterm infants receive parenteral nutrition (PN) during the first few weeks of life. Weaning VLBW infants off PN, however, is a top priority since PN is associated with a high risk of complications. The decision making is purely empirical, as there is currently no suitable index of gastrointestinal (GI) maturity.

Fecal calprotectin excretion in preterm infants during the neonatal period.

Background: Fecal calprotectin has been proposed as a non-invasive marker of intestinal inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease in adults and children. Fecal calprotectin levels have been reported to be much higher in both healthy full-term and preterm infants than in children and adults.

Objective: To determine the time course of fecal calprotectin (f-calprotectin) excretion in preterm infants from birth until hospital discharge and to identify factors influencing f-calprotectin levels in the first weeks of life, including bacterial establishment in the gut.

Investigation of the intestinal microbiota in preterm infants using different methods.

Modifications in microbial colonization of the human gut are believed to affect intestinal homeostasis and increase the risk of gastrointestinal diseases. The present study examined different methods for investigating the dynamic characterization of the intestinal microbiota in preterm infants. Fecal samples were collected weekly from ten preterm infants during their stay in a neonatal intensive care unit.

Atypical deletion of 22q11.2: detection using the FISH TBX1 probe and molecular characterization with high-density SNP arrays.

Despite the heterogeneous clinical presentations, the majority of patients with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2 DS) have either a common recurrent 3 Mb deletion or a less common, 1.

[Persistent central diabetes insipidus in a very low birth weight infant].

Central diabetes insipidus (DI) is extremely rare during the neonatal period. Most cases of central DI are secondary to a known aetiology. Substitutive treatment with desmopressin is effective with nasal or oral preparation, but doses are variable and must be tailored individually.

[Neonatal enterovirus myocarditis].

Unlabelled: Enterovirus infections in neonates are difficult to diagnose. Diphasic pattern and possibly fatal myocarditis must be anticipated.

Case Report: A 14-day-old girl had presented a heart failure after an initial episode of gastroenteritis and supraventricular tachycardia.

Outborn status with a medical neonatal transport service and survival without disability at two years. A population-based cohort survey of newborns of less than 33 weeks of gestation.

Objective: Prenatal events are thought to play an important role in long-term handicap, but the specific role of perinatal factors remains controversial. Our study, conducted in the context of this debate, aimed to break down the various components of perinatal management and to assess the relationship between these components and survival without disability at the age of two years.

Study Design: A prospective geographically-defined study was conducted in 1985 in the Paris metropolitan area.

[Bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Course over 3 years in 88 children born between 1984 and 1988].

Background: The survival and outcome of infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BD) depend on the patient's maturity, the severity of the BD and nutritional problems. This study evaluates the specific role of chronic pulmonary failure in the growth and development of infants recovering from BD.

Population And Methods: 88 infants admitted for BD from January 1984 to December 1988, having gestational age from 25 to 41 weeks 5 days (mean: 29) and birth weight from 680 to 3,400 g (mean: 1,195) were studied.

[Future of premature infants of less than 33 weeks gestational age: results of an inquiry undertaken in 1985 in the Paris region].

Improvements in combining obstetrics and neonatology led to a trend to intervene earlier in premature babies born before the 33rd week of gestational age. The enquiry that was carried out in 1985 in the Paris geographical region had as its objective to assess on the one part how many premature deliveries occurred between the 25th and 33rd week of amenorrhea and on the other hand what happened in the short term to the infants born from these pregnancies, i.e.

[Necrotic funisitis].

The authors report eighty eight cases of a perticular type of funisitis characterized by perivascular necrosis of Wharton's jelly. The accompanying leucocyte reaction is weak, and sometimes nil, and the inflammatory lesions of the placenta are also moderate, and sometimes absent. The necrosis of the cord is, however, sufficiently pronounced to be visible to the naked eye.

[Bronchopulmonary dysplasia].

A retrospective study of 2 125 preterm infants, who were ventilated at the Institut de Puériculture in Paris over 9 years (1974-1982) for respiratory distress at birth, showed that 45 (2%) developed clinical and radiological bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD): 8 minimal forms, 23 moderate forms and 14 severe forms, 30 of these patients survived (66%). The pathogenesis of this chronic respiratory disease is multifactorial: oxygen + pressure + duration + endotracheal intubation. Efforts should be made to limit the damaging effect of each of these factors, which should be kept down to the minimum values compatible with adequate oxygenation.