Intravenous paracetamol in comparison with ibuprofen for the treatment of patent ductus arteriosus in preterm infants: a randomized controlled trial.

Our aim was to assess the efficacy and safety of intravenous (i.v.) paracetamol vs.

Efficacy and safety of intravenous paracetamol in comparison to ibuprofen for the treatment of patent ductus arteriosus in preterm infants: study protocol for a randomized control trial.

Background: Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is one of most common complications in preterm infants. Although ibuprofen represents the first choice for the closure of PDA, this treatment can cause severe gastrointestinal and adverse renal effects and worsen platelet function. The successful closure of the PDA with paracetamol has been recently reported in several preterm infants, and the safety of paracetamol for this use has been suggested by the available data.

Neurological abnormalities in full-term asphyxiated newborns and salivary S100B testing: the "Cooperative Multitask against Brain Injury of Neonates" (CoMBINe) international study.

Background: Perinatal asphyxia (PA) is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in newborns: its prognosis depends both on the severity of the asphyxia and on the immediate resuscitation to restore oxygen supply and blood circulation. Therefore, we investigated whether measurement of S100B, a consolidated marker of brain injury, in salivary fluid of PA newborns may constitute a useful tool for the early detection of asphyxia-related brain injury.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study in 292 full-term newborns admitted to our NICUs, of whom 48 suffered PA and 244 healthy controls admitted at our NICUs.

Urine S100 BB and A1B dimers are valuable predictors of adverse outcome in full-term asphyxiated infants.

Aim: To investigate whether S100A1B and BB dimers are predictors of early perinatal death in newborns with perinatal asphyxia (PA).

Methods: The study compared 38 full-term newborns with PA [neonatal death n = 11; hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE): n = 27] with a control group of 38 healthy infants. Clinical and laboratory parameters were recorded at eight time points and urine collected for S100B assessment.

Biomarkers of brain damage in preterm infants.

Objective: There is growing evidence on the usefulness of biomarkers in the early detection of preterm infants at risk for brain damage. However, among different tools Activin A, S100B protein and adrenomedullin assessment offer the possibility to investigate brain/multiorgan function and development. This could be especially useful in perinatal medicine that requires even more non-invasive techniques in order to fulfill the minimal handling in diagnostic and therapeutic strategy performance.

Perinatal asphyxia: kidney failure does not affect S100B urine concentrations.

Background: S100B protein is a well-established marker of brain damage. Its importance in urine assessment is the convenience of a collection and sampling procedure that can be repeated without risk for the newborn. Since S100B is mainly eliminated by the kidneys and perinatal asphyxia (PA) is often associated with kidney failure we investigated whether S100B release might be kidney-mediated, thereby modifying the protein's reliability as a brain-damage marker.

S100B protein maternal and fetal bloodstreams gradient in healthy and small for gestational age pregnancies.

Background: Brain S100B assessment in maternal blood has been proposed as a useful tool for early perinatal brain damage detection. Among potential confounding factors the possibility of a protein gradient between maternal and fetal bloodstreams under pathophysiological conditions is consistent. The present study investigates in healthy and small gestational age fetuses (SGA) whether S100B concentrations differ among fetal and maternal bloodstreams.

Antenatal glucocorticoid treatment affects preterm infants' S100B urine concentration in a dose-dependent manner.

Background: Maternal glucocorticoid (GC) treatment is widely used to prevent lung immaturity in preterm infants. There is growing evidence that GCs may be detrimental to the Central Nervous System (CNS). We investigated whether antenatal GC administration affects CNS function in a dose-dependent manner by measuring urine concentrations of a well-established brain damage marker, S100B.

High maternal blood S100B concentrations in pregnancies complicated by intrauterine growth restriction and intraventricular hemorrhage.

Background: Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is associated with perinatal mortality and with neurologic damage from intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH). We investigated whether S100B, a neural protein found in high concentrations after cell injury in the nervous system, is increased in serum of women whose pregnancies are complicated by IUGR and whose newborns develop IVH. We also explored the prognostic accuracy of maternal serum S100B for IVH in the newborn.

Urinary S100B protein measurements: A tool for the early identification of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy in asphyxiated full-term infants.

Objective: Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is one of the major causes of perinatal mortality and morbidity. To date, there are no reliable methods to detect which infants will develop brain damage after asphyxia insult.

Design And Setting: Prospective study conducted in three tertiary departments of neonatology from December 1999 to July 2002.

S100B protein is increased in asphyxiated term infants developing intraventricular hemorrhage.

Objective: To establish whether S100B protein may be useful in the early detection of intraventricular hemorrhage in asphyxiated term infants.

Design: Case-control study.

Patients: Twenty full-term newborns with intraventricular hemorrhage, 20 asphyxiated infants without intraventricular hemorrhage, and 80 normal newborns.

Elevated S100B protein as an early indicator of intracranial haemorrhage in infants subjected to extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.

Unlabelled: The aim of this investigation was to verify whether plasma S100B could be a useful tool in identifying which infants subjected to extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) might develop intracranial haemorrhage (ICH). A case-control study of eight infants who developed ICH during ECMO was conducted. Plasma samples collected daily after ECMO insertion were assessed for S100B and compared with those obtained from eight infants supported by ECMO who did not develop ICH.