Neonatology
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Caffeine, a methylxanthine and nonspecific inhibitor of adenosine receptors, is an example of a drug that has been in use for more than 40 years. It is one of the most commonly prescribed drugs in neonatal medicine. However, until 2006, it had only a few relatively small and short-term studies supporting its use. ⋯ The most frequent indication for therapy reported in CAP was treatment of documented apnea, followed by the facilitation of the removal of an endotracheal tube. Only about 20% of the neonatologists in the trial started caffeine for the prevention of apnea and the findings of CAP cannot automatically be extrapolated to an exclusive prophylactic indication. However, recent data suggest that the administration of prophylactic methylxanthine by neonatologists is now common practice.
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Lung ultrasound (LUS) is a promising technique for the diagnosis of neonatal respiratory diseases. Preliminary data has shown a good sensitivity and specificity of LUS in the diagnosis of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) and transient tachypnea of the newborn (TTN). ⋯ LUS showed high sensitivity and specificity in diagnosing RDS and TTN.
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To study whether new pharmacological and nonpharmacological guidelines lowered numbers of painful procedures in neonates and changed the amount and frequency of analgesic therapy as compared to the results of our previous study in 2001. ⋯ The mean number of painful procedures per NICU patient per day declined. Nonpharmacological pain- or stress-reducing strategies like NIDCAP and sucrose were fully embedded in our pain management. As further reduction of the number of painful procedures is unlikely, we should apply more nonpharmacological interventions and explore newer pharmacological agents.
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Carbon monoxide (CO), a relaxant regulator of muscle tone and marker of oxidative stress and inflammation, can be measured in exhaled air by determination of end-tidal CO corrected for CO in ambient air (ETCOc). ⋯ The higher ETCOc values in hsPDA infants early after birth reflect the early relaxant state of ductal muscular tone. ETCOc <2.5 ppm within 24 h after birth may predict the subsequent absence of hsPDA. ETCOc showed no correlation with cerebral oxygenation in both groups.
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Gases for respiratory support at birth are typically 'cold and dry', which may increase the risk of hypothermia and lung injury. ⋯ Rapid gas conditioning for newborn stabilisation is feasible using the experimental set-up, ≥20 ml H2O and a flow of 10 l/min. The circuit could be used immediately once switched on. Without power, conditioning is quickly lost. Investigation of the clinical effects of gas conditioning is warranted.