Accuracy of sonographic estimates of fetal weight in very small infants.
(1/987)
OBJECTIVE: Fetal outcome is inversely related to gestational age and birth weight. Therefore, in very small fetuses, estimated weight may play an important role in clinical management. Our aim was to determine the accuracy of sonographic estimates of fetal weight in very small infants. DESIGN: Retrospective chart review. SUBJECTS: We retrospectively studied 100 consecutive infants with a birth weight of < 1000 g, at a gestational age between 24.0 and 34.0 weeks, in which biometric data < 2 weeks prior to delivery were available for analysis. METHODS: We estimated fetal weight with the use of two methods--by those of Hadlock and colleagues and Scott and colleagues--and compared the estimated values with measured birth weights. RESULTS: The infants had a mean birth weight of 742 +/- 173 (SD) g, at a gestational age of 28.1 +/- 2.0 (SD) weeks. With Hadlock's method, the mean estimated fetal weight (EFW) was 736 +/- 186 (SD) g, which was not significantly different from birth weight; the mean EFW error was 0.8 +/- 12.7 (SD) %. With Scott's method, the mean EFW was 780 +/- 185 (SD) g, which was significantly increased above birth weight; the mean EFW error was 5.7 +/- 12.5 (SD) %. The accuracy of the weight estimates was not significantly affected by the period between ultrasound examination and delivery if < 2 weeks, or by fetal growth restriction. CONCLUSION: In our population of small fetuses, Hadlock's estimates of fetal weight correlated well with measured birth weight, whereas Scott's method tended to overestimate. (+info)
The influence of day of life in predicting the inpatient costs for providing care to very low birth weight infants.
(2/987)
The purpose of this study was to test, refine, and extend a statistical model that adjusts neonatal intensive care costs for a very low birth weight infant's day of life and birth weight category. Subjects were 62 infants with birth weights below 1,501 g who were born and cared for in a university hospital until discharged home alive. Subjects were stratified into 250-g birth weight categories. Clinical and actual daily room and ancillary-resource costs for each day of care of each infant were tabulated. Data were analyzed by using a nonlinear regression procedure specifying two separate for modeling. The modeling was performed with data sets that both included and excluded room costs. The former set of data were used for generating a model applicable for comparing interhospital performances and the latter for comparing interphysician performances. The results confirm the existence of a strong statistical relationship between an infant's day of life and both total hospital costs and the isolated costs for ancillary-resource alone (P < 0.0001). A refined series of statistical models have been generated that are applicable to the assessment of either interhospital or interphysician costs associated with providing inpatient care to very low birth weight infants. (+info)
Stool microflora in extremely low birthweight infants.
(3/987)
AIM: To serially characterise aerobic and anaerobic stool microflora in extremely low birthweight infants and to correlate colonisation patterns with clinical risk factors. METHODS: Stool specimens from 29 infants of birthweight <1000 g were collected on days 10, 20, and 30 after birth. Quantitative aerobic and anaerobic cultures were performed. RESULTS: By day 30, predominant species were Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Enterbacter cloacae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Staphylococcus haemolyticus. Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria spp were identified in only one infant. In breast milk fed (but not in formula fed) infants, the total number of bacterial species/stool specimen increased significantly with time (2.50 (SE 0.34) on day 10; 3.13 (0.38) on day 20; 4.27 (0.45) on day 30) as did quantitative bacterial counts; Gram negative species accounted for most of the increase. On day 30, significant inverse correlations were found between days of previous antibiotic treatment and number of bacterial species (r=0.491) and total organisms/g of stool (r=0.482). Gestational age, birthweight, maternal antibiotic or steroid treatment, prolonged rupture of the membranes, and mode of delivery did not seem to affect colonisation patterns. CONCLUSIONS: The gut of extremely low birthweight infants is colonised by a paucity of bacterial species. Breast milking and reduction of antibiotic exposure are critical to increasing fecal microbial diversity. (+info)
Determination of resonance frequency of the respiratory system in respiratory distress syndrome.
(4/987)
AIM: To measure tidal volume delivery produced by high frequency oscillation (HFO) at a range of frequencies including the resonance frequency. METHODS: Eighteen infants with respiratory distress syndrome were recruited (median gestation 28.7 weeks). Each was ventilated at frequencies between 8 and 30 Hertz. Phase analysis was performed at various points of the respiratory cycle. HFO was provided by a variable speed piston device. Resonance frequency was determined from the phase relation between the cyclical movements of the piston and pressure changes at the airway opening. Tidal volume was measured using a jacket plethysmograph. RESULTS: The results were most reproducible when analysis was performed at the end of inspiration (within 1 Hz in nine out of 10 cases). Comparison between tidal volume delivery at 10 Hz and resonance frequency was made in 10 subjects. Delivery was significantly higher at resonance than at 10 Hertz (mean percentage increase 92%, range 9-222%). CONCLUSIONS: These preliminary findings suggest that there is improved volume delivery at resonance frequency. (+info)
Trends in incidence of cranial ultrasound lesions and cerebral palsy in very low birthweight infants 1982-93.
(5/987)
AIM: To evaluate the effects of changing perinatal practice on outcome in terms of cranial ultrasound appearances and subsequent cerebral palsy rates in survivors. METHODS: A tertiary neonatal centre based prospective cohort study was undertaken of very low birthweight infants, in three 4 year periods: 1982-5, 1986-9, 1990-3. Rates of survival, parenchymal cerebral haemorrhage (PH), and leucomalacia on cerebral ultrasound scans, and cerebral palsy (CP) at the age of 3 years were compared. Antenatal steroid prophylaxis and postnatal surfactant use were also compared. RESULTS: VLBW infants (1722) were admitted over the 12 years, of whom 1268 (73.6%) were discharged home. Neonatal survival increased significantly over the three periods (69.2%, 72.9%, 79.7%; p < 0.0001). PH declined from 14.9% to 10.5% (p = 0.032) after 1990 as did CP rate (10.9% to 7.3%; p = 0.046). The use of antenatal steroids and postnatal surfactant greatly increased during this period. Steroid use was significantly associated with increased survival (OR 3.34, 2.31-4.79), decreased PH (OR 0.44, 0.28-0.71), and decreased risk of CP in survivors (OR 0.47, 0.27-0.81) after standardising for gestation, birthweight, sex, place and mode of delivery. Similar effects for surfactant did not remain significant after steroid use had been accounted for. CONCLUSION: Improved survival in VLBW infants since 1990 has been accompanied by a fall in PH and subsequent CP rates in survivors. This change is most likely to be due to the greater use of antenatal steroid prophylaxis. (+info)
Interobserver agreement for grating acuity and letter acuity assessment in 1- to 5.5-year-olds with severe retinopathy of prematurity.
(6/987)
PURPOSE: To evaluate interobserver test-retest reliability of the Teller Acuity Card procedure for assessment of grating acuity at ages 1, 2, 3.5, 4.5, and 5.5 years, for HOTV letter acuity at 3.5 and 4.5 years, and for Early-Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) letter acuity at 5.5 years in the multicenter study of Cryotherapy for Retinopathy of Prematurity (CRYO-ROP). METHODS: Subjects were the 73 participants in the CRYO-ROP study who had acuity assessed at one or more ages by two of the seven study visual acuity testers as part of a quality control procedure. All subjects had birth weights of less than 1251 g, and all had severe (threshold) ROP in one or both eyes. RESULTS: For sighted eyes, interobserver agreement for grating acuity (across all five test ages) was 0.5 octave or better in 57% of eyes and 1.0 octave or better in 85% of eyes. Interobserver agreement for letter acuity (3.5-, 4.5-, and 5.5-year test ages) was 0.5 octave or better in 71% of eyes and 1.0 octave or better in 93% of eyes. For all eyes (sighted and blind), Kendall rank correlation coefficients (Tau) were 0.86, 0.83, and 0.94 for grating, HOTV, and ETDRS acuity, respectively. Kappa statistics on data from all eyes indicated excellent interobserver agreement for grating, HOTV, and ETDRS acuity (0.73, 0.80, and 0.84, respectively). Interobserver agreement was not related to age or to severity of retinal residua of ROP. CONCLUSIONS: Excellent interobserver agreement for grating acuity measurements and for letter acuity measurements was obtained. Results suggest that with careful training and implementation of quality control procedures, high reliability of visual acuity results is possible in clinical populations of young children. (+info)
Outcome following pulmonary haemorrhage in very low birthweight neonates treated with surfactant.
(7/987)
AIM: To determine if pulmonary haemorrhage after surfactant treatment increases short and long term morbidity and mortality in neonates weighing <1500 g at birth. METHODS: Neonates weighing <1500 g at birth who developed pulmonary haemorrhage after surfactant treatment were identified from a database. Based on the change in FIO2, pulmonary haemorrhage was classified as mild, moderate, or severe. Controls were matched for birthweight, gestational age, Apgar scores and hospital. Chronic lung disease (CLD) was defined as the need for supplemental oxygen at 36 weeks of corrected gestational age. RESULTS: From January 1990 to May 1994, 94 of 787 (11.9%) neonates treated with surfactant developed pulmonary haemorrhage. Ten were excluded because of incomplete data or lack of controls. Eighty four were included for further analysis; two acceptable matches were found in 75, while only one match was possible in nine. For the pulmonary haemorrhage group, the mean (SD) birthweight was 917 (238) g, gestational age 27 (1.9) weeks. Pulmonary haemorrhage was severe in 39 (46%), moderate in 22 (26%), and mild in 23 (27%). Moderate and severe pulmonary haemorrhage were associated with chronic lung disease or death, OR 4.4 (confidence interval 1.3-15.7) and OR 7.8 (CI 2.6-28), respectively, while mild pulmonary haemorrhage was not, OR 1.8 (CI 0.55-5.8). pulmonary haemorrhage was associated with major intraventricular haemorrhage (IVH), OR 3.1 (CI 1.5-6.4), but not with minor IVH, OR 1.3 (CI 0.6-2. 6). In the survivors who could be assessed at >/=2 years, the differences in neurodevelopmental outcome among the two groups were not significant. CONCLUSIONS: In neonates treated with surfactant moderate and severe pulmonary haemorrhage is associated with an increased risk of death and short term morbidity. Pulmonary haemorrhage does not seem to be associated with increased long term morbidity. (+info)
Vitamin A supplementation for extremely-low-birth-weight infants. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network.
(8/987)
BACKGROUND: Vitamin A supplementation may reduce the risk of chronic lung disease and sepsis in extremely-low-birth-weight infants. The results of our pilot study suggested that a dose of 5000 IU administered intramuscularly three times per week for four weeks was more effective than the lower doses given in past trials. METHODS: We performed a multicenter, blinded, randomized trial to assess the effectiveness and safety of this regimen as compared with sham treatment in 807 infants in need of respiratory support 24 hours after birth. The mean birth weight was 770 g in the vitamin A group and 769 g in the control group, and the respective gestational ages were 26.8 and 26.7 weeks. RESULTS: By 36 weeks' postmenstrual age, 59 of the 405 infants (15 percent) in the vitamin A group and 55 of the 402 infants (14 percent) in the control group had died. The primary outcome - death or chronic lung disease at 36 weeks' postmenstrual age - occurred in significantly fewer infants in the vitamin A group than in the control group (55 percent vs. 62 percent; relative risk, 0.89; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.80 to 0.99). Overall, 1 additional infant survived without chronic lung disease for every 14 to 15 infants who received vitamin A supplements. The proportions of infants in the vitamin A group and the control group who had signs of potential vitamin A toxicity were similar. The proportion of infants with serum retinol values below 20 microg per deciliter (0.70 micromol per liter) was lower in the vitamin A group than in the control group (25 percent vs. 54 percent, P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Intramuscular administration of 5000 IU of vitamin A three times per week for four weeks reduced biochemical evidence of vitamin A deficiency and slightly decreased the risk of chronic lung disease in extremely-low-birth-weight infants. (+info)