Survival rates for infants born prematurely have improved significantly, in part due to better supportive care such as RBC transfusion. The role of platelet transfusions in neonates is more controversial. Neonatal thrombocytopenia is common in premature infants. The primary causal factors are intrauterine growth restriction/maternal hypertension, in which the infant presents with thrombocytopen...

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to assess the utility of preoperative head ultrasound scan (HUS) in a cohort of newborns also under going preoperative MRI as part of a prospective research study of brain injury in infants having surgery for congenital heart disease(CHD). METHODS A total of 167 infants diagnosed with CHD were included in this 3-center study. None of the patients had cl...

Newfactan is a domestically developed, bovine lung-derived, semi-synthetic surfactant. The aim of this study was to compare the clinical efficacy of Newfactan with that of Surfacten in the treatment of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). Newfactan or Surfacten was randomly allocated to 492 newborn infants who were diagnosed as RDS and required surfactant instillation in four participating hosp...

The aim of this study was to identify risk factors for neurological development in children aged 1 to 3 years with a mild paraparesis form of motor development of lower extremities. Identification and follow-up of the neurorisk factors is important for early detection of neurodevelopmental deviations as well as for initiating early therapeutic treatments, which can improve the processes of brai...

OBJECTIVE To determine whether "early" ibuprofen treatment, at the onset of subtle patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) symptoms, would improve respiratory outcome in premature infants compared with "expectant" management, with ibuprofen treatment only when the PDA becomes hemodynamically significant (HS). STUDY DESIGN We conducted a randomized double-blind controlled trial of infants with gestatio...

AIM To assess the prevalence of an antenatal onset of haemorrhagic and/or ischaemic lesions in preterm infants; to identify possibly related obstetric risk factors. METHODS A prospective cohort study was made of 1332 infants born at less than 34 completed weeks, using cranial ultrasound, for the presence of antenatal brain lesions (group A) involving the periventricular white matter (PVWM) or...

This study evaluated the risk of brain damage in neonates delivered at < 34 weeks following a prolonged latency after preterm premature rupture of membranes (pPROM). The medical records of 77 singletons delivered at < 34 weeks with pPROM and 66 singletons delivered at < 34 weeks with preterm labor and intact membranes were reviewed. Latency was divided into four intervals: < or = 24, > 24-< or ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Hydrocephalus is an important complication of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). We investigated the occurrence of acute hydrocephalus in a rat SAH model. METHODS SAH was induced by endovascular perforation in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats (n=36). Sham rats (n=8) underwent the same procedure without perforation. MRI was performed 24 hours after SAH and the volume of the ve...

OBJECTIVE Not many large studies have reported the true impact of lower-grade intraventricular hemorrhages in preterm infants. We studied the neurodevelopmental outcomes of extremely preterm infants in relation to the severity of intraventricular hemorrhage. METHODS A regional cohort study of infants born at 23 to 28 weeks' gestation and admitted to a NICU between 1998 and 2004. Primary outco...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to analyze prognostic indicators for mortality in neonates with seizures in a level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). PATIENTS AND METHODS A cohort of 100 neonates with clinically manifested seizures hospitalized in the NICU during 4 years period was prospectively monitored for the first year of life. The cohort consisted of 33 preterm and 67 full-te...