Three cases of neonatal meningitis, two of which were fatal, occurred in a premature baby unit during a period of one week. A fourth case occurred in the same unit six months later. Citrobacter koseri was isolated from the cerebrospinal fluid of all four cases. Detailed biochemical and serological examination of the organisms showed that two distinct bioserotypes were involved.

Intussusception in a premature baby is a rare condition. We report a male preterm infant, who developed abdominal distension and abdominal wall erythema. He was operated with suspicion of NEC but an ileo-ileal intussusception and intestinal perforation were encountered at operation.

We report a case of neonatal Bartter syndrome in a 31 weeks premature baby girl with antenatal unexplained polyhydramnios requiring amnioreduction. She presented with early onset E. coli septicaemia and severe dehydration leading to pre-renal renal impairment which obscure the typical biochemical changes of hypokalaemic hypochloraemic metabolic alkalosis.

After a difficult nasal intubation a premature infant leaked cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from one nostril. After developing bacterial meningitis, the baby was referred for neurosurgical management of the CSF fistula. Transaxial computed tomograms demonstrated a nasal encephalocele, but coronal scans were needed to show the defect in the cribriform plate.

Neonatal bacterial sepsis is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality in neonates. 10% cases of neonatal bacteraemia and septicaemia are caused by Enterococci. The increasing incidence of Vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE) is of particular concern because of limited treatment options and increased mortality. We report here a case of neonatal sepsis in a premature baby caused by va...

Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) require equipment and facilities to assist and monitor premature and some term babies. This equipment outputs physiological and clinical data, but current research does not provide doctors with techniques for capturing this data in a format suitable for analysis and research. Additionally, regional hospitals provide limited NICU support, but without access ...

Most sacrococcygeal teratomas present between the 22nd and the 34th week of gestation. The diagnosis of sacrococcygeal teratoma on routine antenatal sonograms is associated with a greater than expected incidence of prenatal and perinatal complications. We report a premature baby with intrauterine spontaneous rupture of giant sacrococcygeal teratoma which was managed successfully.

Chadd, M. A., Gray, 0. P., and Davies, D. F. (1970). Archives of Disease in Childhood, 45, 374. Thyroid function tests in the newborn. The 131I triiodothyronine (T3) resin uptake test reflects thyroid function more closely than other acceptable tests currently available. The T3 uptake and protein-bound iodine (PBI) level were estimated in 20 premature and 20 full-term infants at birth and at th...

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin II (AT II) receptor blockers (ARBs) are widely used antihypertensives with well-recognized renoprotective and cardioprotective effects. Although treatment with these agents generally does not result in adverse metabolic consequences, their use during human pregnancy has been associated with negative reactions. Here we report a prema...

Eleven premature babies developed necrotizing enterocolitis in an epidemic of gastroenteritis and salmonella infection. This occurred in one of two premature baby wards over a period of 10 weeks. All affected babies had severe gastroenteritis and six had salmonella infection. No cases of necrotizing enterocolitis occurred in the unaffected ward during the same period. All other possible factors...