Impact of a transcutaneous bilirubinometry program on resource utilization and severe hyperbilirubinemia.

Objectives: Our goal was to assess the impact of programmatic and coordinated use of transcutaneous bilirubinometry (TcB) on the incidence of severe neonatal hyperbilirubinemia and measures of laboratory, hospital, and nursing resource utilization.

Methods: We compared the neonatal hyperbilirubinemia-related outcomes of 14 796 prospectively enrolled healthy infants ≥35 weeks gestation offered routine TcB measurements in both hospital and community settings by using locally validated nomograms relative to a historical cohort of 14 112 infants assessed by visual inspection alone.

Results: There was a 54.

Transcutaneous bilirubin levels in an outpatient and office population.

Objective: The use of transcutaneous bilirubin (TcB) measurements has been studied extensively in the newborn population, but there have been few studies in outpatient populations and none from the offices of practicing pediatricians.

Study Design: We performed TcB measurements on a mixed-race population of 120 jaundiced infants, ≥ 35 weeks of gestation, in two hospital-based outpatient clinics, a regional public health nurse follow-up program and two pediatric office practices. Three individual TcB readings were obtained from the mid-sternum, and the average and maximum values were recorded.

Impact of skin tone on the performance of a transcutaneous jaundice meter.

Aim: To evaluate the performance of the Konica Minolta/Air-Shields JM-103 jaundice meter on the basis of infant skin tone during the early neonatal period.

Methods: Infants were prospectively categorized into light, medium and dark skin tone groups relative to two reference colours. Transcutaneous bilirubin readings were taken at predetermined intervals through the early neonatal period on a convenience sample of 938 healthy infants > or =37 weeks gestation.

Identification and characterization of novel adeno-associated virus isolates in ATCC virus stocks.

Adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) depend on a helper virus for efficient replication. To identify novel AAV isolates, we screened a diverse set of virus isolates for the presence of AAV DNA. AAVs found in 10 simian adenovirus isolates showed greater than 96% homology to AAV1 and AAV6 but had distinct biological properties.

The Rapunzel syndrome (trichobezoar) causing atypical intussusception in a child: a case report.

The Rapunzel syndrome (trichobezoar) occurs when gastrointestinal obstruction is produced by a rare manifestation of a trichobezoar with a long tail that extends to or beyond the ileocecal valve. A case history of a 7-year-old girl is described. This is the eleventh patient with Rapunzel syndrome reported in the literature.

Prospective study of fluconazole therapy in systemic neonatal fungal infection.

Background: Standard neonatal systemic antifungal therapy with amphotericin B and flucytosine can be associated with toxicity, drug resistance and the need for prolonged venous access. There is consequently a need for alternative treatment options.

Objectives: To assess the efficacy and safety of fluconazole in the treatment of systemic neonatal fungal infections.

Fluconazole vs. amphotericin B for the treatment of neonatal fungal septicemia: a prospective randomized trial.

Objective: Fungal septicemia is a devastating disease in the neonate, especially in the low birth weight preterm infant who is especially vulnerable to disseminated fungal sepsis. The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy, safety and overall convenience of fluconazole vs. amphotericin B for the treatment of disseminated fungal sepsis in neonates.

Prevalence of hyaline membrane disease in black and white low-birth-weight infants.

Previous studies in South Africa and elsewhere have suggested that there are ethnic differences in the prevalence of hyaline membrane disease (HMD). This study compared the prevalence of HMD between black and white infants with birth weights of 1,000-1,749 g. A cohort of black and one of white low-birth-weight infants were enrolled at Baragwanath and Johannesburg Hospitals respectively.

Attitudes of mothers, doctors, and nurses toward neonatal intensive care in a developing society.

Background: The ethical allocation of scarce resources is a major challenge for physicians working in the developing world. Guidelines currently employed by health care workers in the developed world may be considered impractical or inappropriate in the "Third World."

Objective: To gain insight into the attitudes of doctors, nurses, and mothers of recent neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) survivors toward the utilization and withdrawal of life support in the context of a developing society.

Prophylactic miconazole oral gel for the prevention of neonatal fungal rectal colonization and systemic infection.

Prior rectal colonization with fungi may be an important risk factor for development of systemic fungal infection in the neonate. This placebo-controlled study evaluated the benefits of miconazole oral gel in the prevention of fungal rectal colonization and systemic infection in high risk neonates admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Repeated oral application of miconazole gel reduced the overall prevalence of postnatally acquired rectal colonization; a yeast was grown in 19.

Congenital contractural arachnodactyly in a black African kindred.

Congenital Contractural Arachnodactyly is an inherited disorder of connective tissue characterised by congenital contractures, arachnodactyly, marfanoid habitus, crumpled auricles and in some kindreds, progressive kyphoscoliosis. An extensive kindred with many affected members is described. The importance of the early recognition of this syndrome is highlighted.

[Contact dermatitis caused by heterologous proteins].

A patient (gastronomic employee) presented a sharp dermatosis of eczema type in both hands. Patch-test confirmed sensitivity to heterologous proteins contained in the squid, which he was accustomed to handling. Although the levels of the IgE were elevated, the final diagnostic was dermatitis by allergic heterologous proteins.

Control of leucine transport in yeast by periplasmic binding proteins.

The concentrative inward transport of leucine in Saccharomyces carlsbergensis involves two transport systems (S1 and S2); S1 is a system of high affinity and low translocation velocity, and S2 is a system of low affinity and high translocation velocity. The inward transport process of the amino acid is discriminated into two kinetically defined steps: first, binding to periplasmic proteins and second, translocation across the plasmalemma. When cells were incubated with glucose to increase the metabolic energy charge, we observed that JTmax (maximum flux that each system can exhibit for the translocation step) increased for both systems.

Severe hypervitaminosis A in siblings: evidence of variable tolerance to retinol intake.

A 2-year-old boy had signs and symptoms of chronic hypervitaminosis A. A course of increasing severity led to eventual death. A younger brother later had similar clinical features.

Amino acid uptake by yeasts. IV. Effect of thiol reagents on L-leucine transport in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

(1) N-Ethylmaleimide (a penetrating SH- reagent) inactivated L-[14C]leucine entrance (binding and translocation) into Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the extent of inhibition depending on the time of preincubation with N-ethylmaleimide, N-ethylmaleimide concentration, the amino acid external and internal concentration, and the energization state of the yeast cells. With D-glucose-energized yeast, N-ethylmaleimide inhibited L-[14C]leucine entrance in all the assayed experimental conditions, but with starved yeast and low (0.1 mM) amino acid concentration, it did not inhibit L-[14C]leucine binding, except when the cells were preincubated with L-leucine.