The influence of electronic health record design on usability and medication safety: systematic review.

Background: The advantages of electronic health records (EHRs) are well-documented regarding the process of care, enhanced data accessibility and cost savings. However, EHR design can also contribute to usability challenges, with poorly designed EHRs being implicated in user errors including patient overdoses. Our study seeks to evaluate how EHR design influences both usability and medication safety.

Born into homelessness: A retrospective observational study.

Objective: To evaluate the differences in the antenatal and neonatal courses of maternal-infant dyads within a homeless population as compared to the general hospital population.

Design: This was a retrospective observational study.

Setting: A large single tertiary maternity hospital (8500 deliveries/year) in Ireland.

Risk assessment tool for compatibility of concurrent administration of intravenous medications with parenteral nutrition admixture.

Compatibility of parenteral nutrition admixture (PNA) and intravenous medications (IVMs) is a major consideration for clinicians and clinical pharmacists, especially when concurrent administration of PNA with IVMs is unavoidable. This is relatively common in children and neonates, where limited vascular access can be challenging. The purpose of this paper is to create a risk assessment tool that will assist clinical judgment in evaluating the potential incompatibility risk between PNA media and the IVMs when they are administered together through the same intravenous line.

Maternal thrombocytopenia is not predictive of neonatal thrombocytopenia: a single-center Irish study.

Background: Maternal thrombocytopenia during pregnancy is common. However, the relationship between maternal and neonatal thrombocytopenia is poorly understood.

Objectives: We aimed to determine whether an association exists between platelet counts of neonates born to mothers with moderate-to-severe thrombocytopenia (<100 × 10/L) and neonatal platelet counts.

Sexual violence associated with international travel: a review of 443 cases.

Background: Sexual violence (SV) while travelling internationally is underreported and pre-travel advice is often focussed on broader tourist safety concerns. International travellers who experience sexual violence face particular challenges. The aim of this paper was to analyse the attendances of people who disclosed having been subjected to SV during international travel to the Sexual Assault Treatment Unit (SATU) network in the Republic of Ireland.

Physical injury in men after sexual assault: An analysis of 137 cases.

Background: Data on the prevalence of physical injury in men who experience sexual assault are under-represented in the literature; the aim of this study is to inform this knowledge gap. It is vital that forensic examiners have access to up-to-date information regarding the prevalence of genito-anal and extra-genital injury, specific to their examination method (i.e.

Logistics for achieving delivery: A secondary analysis of the home induction randomised controlled trial.

Objective: This secondary analysis evaluates the logistics of achieving vaginal delivery following outpatient induction. This includes changes in Bishop score before and after cervical ripening, the need for additional ripening agents, time interval from induction to delivery, all of which provide invaluable information when developing an outpatient induction of labour service.

Study Design: We randomised healthy nulliparous women with no significant medical history, who agreed to elective induction of labour at 39 weeks' gestation, to one of three forms of initial cervical ripening at home: 12 h of Dilapan-S, 24 h of Dilapan-S, or 24 h of slow-release dinoprostone (Propess).

Utility of Cranial Ultrasound to Investigate Brain Injury in Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy.

Background: With increasing availability of brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in high-income countries, cranial ultrasound (cUS) is used less frequently to evaluate infants with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). This study aimed to correlate findings of brain injury on early postnatal cUS with brain injury on neonatal brain MRI performed as part of routine clinical care for near-term and term infants with moderate to severe HIE.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study comparing early postnatal cUS and later neonatal brain MRI using scoring systems with prognostic validity to assess brain injury in near-term/term infants with moderate or severe HIE.

Impact of pregnancy termination law reforms in Ireland on pregnancy termination rates in the setting of fetal congenital heart disease: A trend analysis.

Objective: Prior to 2019, termination of pregnancy (TOP) was unlawful in Ireland. We sought to examine the impact of legislative change on TOP for major congenital heart disease (CHD) and its effect on parental decision-making regarding the options of complex surgery, TOP, or palliative perinatal care.

Methods: This was a trend analysis of second-trimester TOP for major CHD before and after the law reforms relating to pregnancy termination in Ireland.

Acetaminophen in Pregnancy and Attention-Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder and Autistic Spectrum Disorder.

Acetaminophen is a common over-the-counter medication that recently gained substantial media attention regarding its use by pregnant individuals. In this clinical perspective, we discuss the strengths and limitations of the published literature on the effect of maternal acetaminophen use in pregnancy on the child's risk of developing attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). Studies included were specifically selected on the basis of the quality and validity of ADHD or ASD outcome definitions.

The rising tide: Trends in induction of labor at term over a 5-year period at a single centre.

Objective: Induction of labor (IOL) is a controversial topic in contemporary obstetric practice, with some suggesting that the increase in elective induction (eIOL) as a potential contributor to increasing cesarean delivery (CD) rates. The objectives of this single-center study were to examine the rates of IOL, trends in indications for IOL, and the contribution of IOL to the overall CD rate at one of Europe's largest obstetric hospitals.

Methods: This retrospective observational cohort study evaluated the outcomes of patients who were delivered following IOL from 2018 to 2022 inclusive at the largest obstetric hospital in Ireland.

Care considerations for caesarean births in a non-obstetric hospital.

Background: Births in non-maternity hospitals pose significant challenges to ensure delivery of safe and effective care.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review examining the maternal and neonatal demographics and care needs of women delivering in a non-obstetric general hospital over a 10-year period.

Results: Cardiac conditions and placenta accreta spectrum disorder were the most common reasons for birth in this location.

Bullous lung disease in pregnancy: a case report.

Bullous lung disease presenting as a pneumothorax in pregnancy has not been reported in the literature to date. We present the case of a woman in her third pregnancy presenting to routine antenatal clinic with a secondary spontaneous pneumothorax in the third trimester. We describe the multidisciplinary approach to her management with obstetrics, obstetric anaesthesiology, cardiothoracic surgery and midwifery.

Advancing our knowledge of placental function and how it relates to the developing fetal brain.

Perinatal medicine has made significant advancements in recent decades. This has improved care and outcomes for infants. As we strive to improve neurodevelopmental outcomes, we must understand the influence the maternal/placental/fetal (MPF) triad has on fetal development and postnatal health and disease.

Variations in antenatal management and outcomes in haemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn: an international, retrospective, observational cohort study.

Background: Advances in haemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn have led to numerous treatment options. We report practice variations in the management and outcomes of haemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn in at-risk pregnancies.

Methods: In this international, retrospective, observational cohort study, data from cases with moderate or severe haemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn were retrieved from 31 centres in 22 countries.

Diabetes prevention after gestational diabetes: challenges and opportunities.

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) poses significant health concerns for women and their offspring, with implications that extend beyond pregnancy. While GDM often resolves postpartum, a diagnosis of GDM confers a greater risk of future type 2 diabetes (T2D) and other chronic illnesses. Furthermore, the intergenerational impact of GDM predisposes offspring to increased chronic disease risk.

Delivery room dextrose gel for preterm hypoglycaemia (the GEHPPI study): a randomised placebo-controlled trial.

Objective: Early hypoglycaemia at the time of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission is common in very/extreme preterm infants. This study aimed to determine whether buccal dextrose gel in the delivery room (DR) would improve rates of early hypoglycaemia in this population.

Design: Randomised, blinded, placebo-controlled trial.

Neonatal Outcomes following 2 Cases of Maternal CAR-T Therapy for High-Grade B-Cell Lymphoma.

Introduction: Chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR-Ts) targeting CD19 represent a significant advance in treatment for patients with relapsed/refractory B-cell malignancies. Although a significant minority of recipients are women during their reproductive years, there is a paucity of data regarding pregnancy and neonatal outcomes in women previously treated with CAR-T. This is important as maternal T cells are known to cross the placenta and into breastmilk during pregnancy and breastfeeding, respectively.

Point-of-care procalcitonin trends in suspected neonatal late-onset infection: a prospective observational study.

Background: Procalcitonin-guided antimicrobial decision-making has been shown to be safe in adult intensive care settings. Most antimicrobial exposure in neonatal units is in culture-negative conditions. We hypothesise that Procalcitonin aids antimicrobial stewardship efforts in suspected Late-Onset Neonatal Sepsis.

Gastric emptying in pregnancy and its clinical implications: a narrative review.

Delayed gastric emptying increases the risk of pulmonary aspiration during anaesthesia for Caesarean delivery. Our aim in conducting this narrative review was to consider the effect of pregnancy on gastric emptying. The indices of gastric emptying after liquids, solids, or both and when fasted in the various trimesters of pregnancy, at the time of Caesarean delivery, in labour, and the postpartum period were assessed.