Incidence and risk factors of parenteral nutrition-associated cholestasis in Omani neonates single centre experience

Parenteral nutrition-associated cholestasis [PNAC] is one of the most challenging complications of prolonged parenteral nutrition [PN] in neonates. There is a lack of research investigating its incidence in newborn infants in Oman and the Arab region. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the incidence of PNAC and its risk factors in Omani neonates. This retrospective study took place between January and April 2014. All neonates who received PN for >/=14 days during a four-year period [June 2009 to May 2013] at the neonatal intensive care unit [NICU] in Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman, were enrolled. A total of 1,857 neonates were admitted to the NICU over the study period and 135 neonates [7.3%] received PN for >/=14 days. Determining the incidence of PNAC was only possible in 97 neonates; of these, 38 [39%] had PNAC. The main risk factors associated with PNAC were duration of PN, duration of enteral starvation, gastrointestinal surgeries, blood transfusions and sepsis. Neonates with PNAC had a slightly higher incidence of necrotising enterocolitis in comparison to those without PNAC. This study found a PNAC incidence of 39% in Omani neonates. There were several significant risk factors for PNAC in Omani neonates; however, after logistic regression analysis, only total PN duration remained statistically significant. Preventive strategies should be implemented in NICUs so as to avoid future chronic liver disease in this population

Transient myeloproliferative disorder and Down Syndrome. Is there a link?

An extremely premature male neonate presented with an unusual multisystem dysfunction within the first 24 to 48 hours of life. The unfolding of clinical events and investigations revealed a transient myeloproliferative disorder [TMD]. TMD was the main indication for karyotyping of this premature infant without clinical symptoms of Down syndrome. The awareness of TMD in a newborn warrants karyotype analysis to look for trisomy 21 and a close surveillance because of its potential progression to true leukaemia