Analysis of Related Factors Affecting the Risk Assessment of Death during Hospitalization of Extremely Low Birth Weight Infants / 中山大学学报(医学科学版)

ObjectiveTo explore the influencing factors of different scores on predicting death risk of extremely low birth weight infants （ELBWI）. MethodsA total of 186 cases of ELBWI admitted by the Children's Hospital affiliated to Nanjing Medical University and the Lishui Branch of the Affiliated Zhongda Hospital of Southeast University were admitted from January 1， 2019 to January 1， 2021， and 125 ELBWIs were finally included after screening by inclusion and exclusion criteria. There were 47 cases in the death group and 78 cases in the survival group. General data and the items of score for neonatal acute physiology version Ⅱ （SNAP-Ⅱ）， simplified version of the score for neonatal acute physiology perinatal extension （SNAPPE-Ⅱ）， clinical risk index for babies （CRIB）， clinical risk index for babies Ⅱ （CRIB-Ⅱ） and the national critical illness score （NCIS） were collected. Univariate and multivariate analysis was performed and nomogram was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic curve （ROC）. ResultsIt was found that systolic blood pressure， maximum inhaled oxygen concentration， BE value and birth weight were important factors in ELBWI mortality risk assessment ［systolic blood pressure OR： 0.968， 95%CI： 0.938-0.999， P=0.043； maximum inhaled oxygen concentration OR： 1.020， 95%CI： 1.006-1.034， P=0.006； BE OR： 0.868， 95%CI： 0.786-0.959， P=0.005； birth weight OR： 0.994， 95%CI： 0.991-0.997， P=0.000］. ROC showed that the area under the curve of the above four variables is 0.71， and the 95% confidence interval is 0.610-0.799， which is better than CRIB score. ConclusionLower systolic blood pressure， higher inhaled oxygen concentration， higher BE and lower birthweight are important influencing factors to predict the death risk of ELBWI. The above four items should be included in the newly developed score assessment to obtain a more effective ELBWI prediction system.

Predictive value of six critical illness scores for 28-day death risk in comprehensive and specialized intensive care unit patients based on MIMIC-Ⅳ database / 中华危重病急救医学

Objective:To explore the basic characteristics of various types of intensive care unit (ICU) patients and the predictive value of six common disease severity scores in critically ill patients on the first day on the 28-day death risk.Methods:The general information, disease severity scores [acute physiology score Ⅲ (APSⅢ), Oxford acute disease severity (OASIS) score, Logistic organ dysfunction score (LODS), simplified acute physiology score Ⅱ (SAPSⅡ), systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) score and sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score], prognosis and other indicators of critically ill patients admitted from 2008 to 2019 were extracted from Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care-Ⅳ 2.0 (MIMIC-Ⅳ 2.0). The receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC curve) of six critical illness scores for 28-day death risk of patients in various ICU, and the area under the ROC curve (AUC) was calculated, the optimal Youden index was used to determine the cut-off value, and the AUC of various ICU was verified by Delong method.Results:A total of 53 150 critically ill patients were enrolled, with medical ICU (MICU) accounted for the most (19.25%, n = 10 233), followed by cardiac vascular ICU (CVICU) with 17.78% ( n = 9 450), and neurological ICU (NICU) accounted for the least (6.25%, n = 3 320). The patients in coronary care unit (CCU) were the oldest [years old: 71.79 (60.27, 82.33)]. The length of ICU stay in NICU was the longest [days: 2.84 (1.51, 5.49)] and accounted for the highest proportion of total length of hospital stay [63.51% (34.61%, 97.07%)]. The patients in comprehensive ICU had the shortest length of ICU stay [days: 1.75 (0.99, 3.05)]. The patients in CVICU had the lowest proportion of length of ICU stay to total length of hospital stay [27.69% (18.68%, 45.18%)]. The six scores within the first day of ICU admission in NICU patients were lower than those in the other ICU, while APSⅢ, LODS, OASIS, and SOFA scores in MICU patients were higher than those in the other ICU. SAPⅡ and SIRS scores were both the highest in CVICU, respectively. In terms of prognosis, MICU patients had the highest 28-day mortality (14.14%, 1 447/10 233), while CVICU patients had the lowest (2.88%, 272/9 450). ROC curve analysis of the predictive value of each score on the 28-day death risk of various ICU patients showed that, the predictive value of APSⅢ, LODS, and SAPSⅡ in comprehensive ICU were higher [AUC and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were 0.84 (0.83-0.85), 0.82 (0.81-0.84), and 0.83 (0.82-0.84), respectively]. The predictive value of OASIS, LODS, and SAPSⅡ in surgical ICU (SICU) were higher [AUC and 95% CI were 0.80 (0.79-0.82), 0.79 (0.78-0.81), and 0.79 (0.77-0.80), respectively]. The predictive value of APSⅢ and SAPSⅡ in MICU were higher [AUC and 95% CI were 0.84 (0.82-0.85) and 0.82 (0.81-0.83), respectively]. The predictive value of APSⅢ and SAPSⅡ in CCU were higher [AUC and 95% CI were 0.86 (0.85-0.88) and 0.85 (0.83-0.86), respectively]. The predictive value of LODS and SAPSⅡ in trauma ICU (TICU) were higher [AUC and 95% CI were 0.83 (0.82-0.83) and 0.83 (0.82-0.84), respectively]. The predictive value of OASIS and SAPSⅡ in NICU were higher [AUC and 95% CI were 0.83 (0.80-0.85) and 0.81 (0.78-0.83), respectively]. The predictive value of APSⅢ, LODS, and SAPSⅡ in CVICU were higher [AUC and 95% CI were 0.84 (0.83-0.85), 0.81 (0.80-0.82), and 0.78 (0.77-0.78), respectively]. Conclusions:For the patients in comprehensive ICU, MICU, CCU, and CVICU, APSⅢ or SAPSⅡ can be applied for predicting 28-day death risk. For the patients in SICU and NICU, OASIS or SAPSⅡ can be applied to predict 28-day death risk. For the patients in TICU, SAPSⅡ or LODS can be applied for predicting 28-day death risk. For CVICU patients, APSⅢ or LODS can be applied to predict 28-day death risk.

Comparison of different neonatal illness severity scores in predicting mortality risk of extremely low birth weight infants / 浙江大学学报·医学版

To compare different illness severity scores in predicting mortality risk of extremely low birth weight infants (ELBWI). From January 1st, 2019 to January 1st, 2020, all ELBWI admitted in the Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital and the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University were included in the study. ELBWI with admission age ≥1 h, gestational age ≥37 weeks and incomplete data required for scoring were excluded. The clinical data were collected, neonatal critical illness score (NCIS), score for neonatal acute physiology version Ⅱ (SNAP-Ⅱ), simplified version of the score for neonatal acute physiology perinatal extension (SNAPPE-Ⅱ), clinical risk index for babies (CRIB) and CRIB-Ⅱ were calculated. The scores of the fatal group and the survival group were compared, and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the predictive value of the above illness severity scores for the mortality risk of ELBWI. Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between illness scores and birth weight, illness scores and gestational age. A total of 192 ELBWI were finally included, of whom 114 cases survived (survival group) and 78 cases died (fatal group). There were significant differences in birth weight, gestational age and Apgar scores between fatal group and survival group (all <0.01). There were significant differences in NCIS, SNAP-Ⅱ, SNAPPE-Ⅱ, CRIB and CRIB-Ⅱ between fatal group and survival group (all <0.01). The CRIB had a relatively higher predictive value for the mortality risk. Its area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.787, the sensitivity was 0.678, the specificity was 0.804, and the Youden index was 0.482. The scores of NCIS, SNAP-Ⅱ, SNAPPE-Ⅱ, CRIB and CRIB-Ⅱ were significantly correlated with birth weight and gestational age (all <0.05). The correlation coefficients of CRIB-Ⅱ and CRIB with birth weight and gestational age were relatively large, and the correlations coefficients of NCIS with birth weight and gestational age were the smallest (0.191 and 0.244, respectively). Among these five illness severity scores, CRIB has better predictive value for the mortality risk in ELBWI. NCIS, which is widely used in China, has relatively lower sensitivity and specificity, and needs to be further revised.

Relationships between stress hyperglycemia and illness severity as well as medical expenditure in emergency patients / 中华内分泌代谢杂志

Objective To study the relationships between stress hyperglycemia and illness severity and medical expenditure in emergency patients. Methods Totally 6128 consecutive hospitalized patients were enrolled from the emergency department. The clinical data of age, gender, stress hyperglycemia, hospitalization expenditure and rescue condition were compared according to diabetic history [ assigned to diabetes mellitus group ( DM) and non-diabetic mellitus group ( NDM ) ] and categories of the diagnosis. The data was compared by subgroups [ stress hyperglycemia group (SH) and control group (CON)]. Results DM patients had longer hospital stays, higher hospitalization expenditure and rescue rates (all P>0. 01) than NDM patients. In DM and NDM group, SH subgroup had higher inspection and medicine expenses, total costs and rescue rates than CON subgroup (all P>0. 05), and NDM+SH subgroup had the highest total costs and rescue rates. Logistic regression analysis showed that SH was an independentriskfactorforrescueinbothNDM[OR=3.817,95％CI(3.151-4.624)]andDM[OR=2.435,95％CI (1. 634-3. 631)] groups. In cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive, neurological, traumatic, and other disease layers, SH was also an independent risk factor for rescue (all P>0. 05). Multivariate regression analysis showed that SH was an independent determinant for total costs, inspection and medicine expenses and days of hospital stay (βwere7077.608,998.472,3495.271,and0.766respectively,allP>0.01). Amongcardiovascular,digestive,and neurological disease layers, SH was an independent factor responsible for days of hospital stay and total costs ( both P>0. 05). Conclusion In emergency admission patients, patients in SH subgroup were severer and had higher medical expenditure than those in CON subgroup. In stratified diseases layers, SH was an independent risk factor for rescuing and increased hospitalization expenditure. Patients in NDM+SH subgroup had more serious illness and more medical expenditure, compared with those in CON subgroup of NDM and DM group.

Effect of Qingyuan Shenghua Decoction on Cardiovascular Indexes and Illness Severity in Sepsis Patients After Severe Bone Trauma / 广州中医药大学学报

Objective To observe the effects of Qingyuan Shenghua Decoction on cardiovascular indexes and illness severity in sepsis patients after severe bone trauma. Methods Forty-eight sepsis patients after severe bone trauma were randomly divided into control group(22 cases)and treatment group(26 cases). The two groups were given routine treatment of western medicine according to International Guidelines for Management of Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock (2012). Additionally,the treatment group was treated with oral use or intranasal use of Qingyuan Shenghua Decoction, a herbal medicine recipe mainly composed of Radix Astragali, Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae,Radix Angelicae Sinensis,Radix Paeoniae Rubra,Radix et Rhizoma Rhei,Rhizoma Curcumae, and Flos Carthami. Before and after treatment,we observed the mean arterial pressure(MAP),central venous pressure(CVP), heart rate(HR), arterial blood lactic acid(Lac), central venous blood oxygen saturation (ScvO2),central venous-arterial blood carbon dioxide partial pressure difference (Pcv-aCO2),acute physiology and chronic health evaluation system Ⅱ(APACHE Ⅱ) scores , sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) scores, and oxygenation index (PaO2/ FiO2) of the two groups. Results With the prolongation of medication time,MAP,CVP,ScvO2,and Pcv-aCO2 of the two groups were increased gradually,and HR and Lac were decreased gradually (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01 compared with those before treatment) . Compared to the control group at the same time period, the treatment group had higher MAP, ScvO2, Pcv-aCO2 and PaO2/FiO2, and had lower HR, Lac, APACHEⅡ scores and SOFA scores 7 days after treatment, the difference being significant(P < 0.05). Conclusion Qingyuan Shenghua Decoction is effective on improving the abnormal hemodynamics and microcirculation, enhancing the efficient utilization of oxygen, protecting the function of multiple viscera,and alleviating the severity of disease in sepsis patients after severe bone trauma.

The Role of Oliguria and the Absence of Fluid Administration and Balance Information in Illness Severity Scores / 대한중환자의학회지

Urinary examination has formed part of patient assessment since the earliest days of medicine. Current definitions of oliguria are essentially arbitrary, but duration and intensity of oliguria have been associated with an increased risk of mortality, and this risk is not completely attributable to the development of concomitant acute kidney injury (AKI) as defined by changes in serum creatinine concentration. The increased risk of death associated with the development of AKI itself may be modified by directly or indirectly by progressive fluid accumulation, due to reduced elimination and increased fluid administration. None of the currently extant major illness severity scoring systems or outcome prediction models use modern definitions of AKI or oliguria, or any values representative of fluid volumes variables. Even if a direct relationship with mortality is not observed, then it is possible that fluid balance or fluid volume variables mediate the relationship between illness severity and mortality in the renal and respiratory physiological domains. Fluid administration and fluid balance may then be an important, easily modifiable therapeutic target for future investigation. These relationships require exploration in large datasets before being prospectively validated in groups of critically ill patients from differing jurisdictions to improve prognostication and mortality prediction.

The Role of Oliguria and the Absence of Fluid Administration and Balance Information in Illness Severity Scores / 대한구급학회지

Urinary examination has formed part of patient assessment since the earliest days of medicine. Current definitions of oliguria are essentially arbitrary, but duration and intensity of oliguria have been associated with an increased risk of mortality, and this risk is not completely attributable to the development of concomitant acute kidney injury (AKI) as defined by changes in serum creatinine concentration. The increased risk of death associated with the development of AKI itself may be modified by directly or indirectly by progressive fluid accumulation, due to reduced elimination and increased fluid administration. None of the currently extant major illness severity scoring systems or outcome prediction models use modern definitions of AKI or oliguria, or any values representative of fluid volumes variables. Even if a direct relationship with mortality is not observed, then it is possible that fluid balance or fluid volume variables mediate the relationship between illness severity and mortality in the renal and respiratory physiological domains. Fluid administration and fluid balance may then be an important, easily modifiable therapeutic target for future investigation. These relationships require exploration in large datasets before being prospectively validated in groups of critically ill patients from differing jurisdictions to improve prognostication and mortality prediction.

Vitamin D Deficiency and Parathyroid Response in Critically-ill Children: Association with Illness Severity and Clinical Outcomes.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in critically ill children, and to study its association with parathyroid response, severity of illness and clinical outcomes. Design: Prospective observational study. Setting: Medical Pediatric Intensive Care Unit of a tertiary care centre of Northern India. Participants: 154 children in-patients: August 2011-January 2013. Main outcome measures: Vitamin D deficient children were (serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D <20 µg/mL) divided into "parathyroid-responder" [serum parathyroid hormone >65 pg/mL with 25(OH)D<20 µg/mL and/or calcium corrected for albumin <8.5 mg/dL] and "non parathyroid-responder.’’ Illness severity was assessed by Pediatric Index of Mortality-2 (PIM-2) score at admission. Biochemical parameters, illness severity scores and clinical outcomes were compared between parathyroid-responders and non-parathyroid-responders. Results: Vitamin D deficiency and hypocalcemia were observed in 125 (83.1%) and 91 (59%) children, respectively at admission. There were no differences in illness severity score at admission, mortality rate and length of stay between vitamin D-deficient children and 19.8% of non-vitamin D-deficient children. Among Vitamin D-deficient children, parathyroid-responders had higher PIM-2 score at admission compared to non-parathyroid-responder [12.8 (7.4,20.6) vs. 6.5 (2.5,12.2), P=0.01]. However, there were no differences in other clinical outcomes between two groups. Conclusion: Critically ill children have high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency. Parathyroid gland response secondary to hypocalcemia or vitamin D defiency is impaired in critical illness.

Correlation of serum concentrations of IL-17A and CXCL12 with illness severity, formation of lymph follicles in patients with COPD / 重庆医学

Objective To investigate the change of serum concentrations of IL‐17A and CXCL12 in patients with chronic ob‐structive pulmonary disease(COPD) and its correlation with illness severity and formation of lymph follicles .Methods Totally 88 cases of patients with COPD in acute phase in our hospital from 1 January 2014 to 1 January 2015 were selected as the research sub‐jects ,and were divided into mild group(n= 23) ,moderate group(n= 42) and severe group(n= 23) according to the severity of COPD ,and were divided into lymph follicles group(n=21) and non lymph follicles group(n=67) according to lymphoid follicles formation .Enzyme‐linked immunosorbent method was applied to detect the serum IL‐17A and CXCL12 concentrations of these groups in acute aggravating period and stability period ,and parameters of pulmonary function in the same period were also detected . The correlations of serum concentrations of IL‐17A and CXCL12 with illness severity ,formation of lymph follicles and lung function in patients with COPD were analysed .Results Compared with mild group ,serum concentrations of IL‐17A and CXCL12 of moder‐ate group and severe group in acute aggravating period and stable period were increased ,while FEV1 and FVC of medium group and severe group in the same period were decreased;compared with the moderate group ,serum concentrations of IL‐17A and CXCL12 of severe group in acute aggravating period and stable period were increased ,while FEV1 and FVC of severe group in the same period were decreased (P<0 .05) .Compared with non lymph follicles group ,serum concentrations of IL‐17A and CXCL12 of lymph folli‐cles group in acute aggravating period and stable period were increased ,while FEV1 and FVC of lymph follicles group in the same period were decreased (P<0 .05) .The results of correlation analysis showed that serum concentrations of IL‐17A and CXCL12 in patients with COPD were positively correlated to the illness severity and lymph follicle formation rate(IL‐17A :r=0 .728 ,0 .762 ;CXCL12 :r=0 .752 ,0 .776 ,P<0 .05) ,while were negatively correlated to FEV1 and FVC(IL‐17A :r= -0 .756 ,-0 .783 ;CXCL12 :r= -0 .743 ,-0 .767 ,P<0 .05) .Conclusion Serum concentrations of IL‐17A and CXCL12 in patients with COPD were associated with its illness severity ,pulmonary function and lymphoid follicles formation ,which may serve as a reference indexes for the assess‐ment of the illness severity ,pulmonary function and lymph follicle formation .

La administración cuantitativa del riesgo financiero en la provisión de un plan de salud / Quantitative Management of Financial Risk in Supplying a Health Plan / A administração quantitativa do risco financeiro na provisão de um plano de saúde

El diseño del sistema de seguridad social en salud y su efectiva implementación es uno de los más grandes retos de la sociedad, y a su vez es la principal garantía del goce efectivo del derecho a la salud. Un gran desafío de estos sistemas es la administración del riesgo financiero implícito en la provisión de los servicios de salud. En este documento de investigación se explica en qué medida este desafío se puede enmarcar dentro de un problema de administración cuantitativa de los riesgos financieros. Si bien el uso de estas herramientas no es nuevo en el diseño del sistema de seguridad social en salud colombiano, es importante hacer claridad sobre el alcance que han tenido, las posibles mejoras que se les puedan hacer y los desafíos en la gestión de estos riesgos, implícitos en la reforma actual de la institucionalidad del sistema.

The design and effective implementation of health security are one of the biggest challenges of society and, at the same time, it is the main way to guarantee the effective enjoyment of the right to health. A great challenge of these systems is managing the financial risk implicit in supplying health services. This research document explains to what extent this challenge can be framed within a quantitative management of financial risk problem. Although the use of these tools is not a novelty in the design of the health security system in Colombia, it is important to clarify their reach, the possible improvements that might be performed on them, and the challenges in the management of these risks, implicit to the current reform of the institutionality of the system.

O desenho do sistema de provisão social em saúde e sua efetiva implementação é um dos mais grandes desafios da sociedade e, por sua vez, a principal garantia do usufruto efetivo do direito à saúde. Um grande desafio destes sistemas é a administração do risco financeiro implícito na provisão dos serviços de saúde. Neste documento de pesquisa explica-se em qual medida este desafio pode-se enquadrar dentro de um problema de gestão quantitativa dos riscos financeiros. Bem que o uso destas ferramentas não é novo no desenho do sistema colombiano de segurança social em saúde, é importante esclarecer o escopo que teriam os possíveis melhoramentos que pudessem se fazer e os desafios na gestão destes riscos, implícitos na reforma atual da institu-cionalidade do sistema.

External Validation of the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II in Korean Intensive Care Units

PURPOSE: This study was designed to validate the usefulness of the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II for predicting hospital mortality of critically ill Korean patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed data on 826 patients who had been admitted to nine intensive care units and were included in the Fever and Antipyretics in Critical Illness Evaluation study cohort. RESULTS: Among the patients enrolled, 62% (512/826) were medical and 38% (314/826) were surgical patients. The median APACHE II score was 17 (11 to 23 interquartile range), and the hospital mortality rate was 19.5%. Age, underlying diseases, medical patients, mechanical ventilation, and renal replacement therapy were independently associated with hospital mortality. The calibration of APACHE II was poor (H=57.54, p<0.0001; C=55.99, p<0.0001), and the discrimination was modest [area under the receiver operating characteristic (aROC)=0.729]. Calibration was poor for both medical and surgical patients (H=63.56, p<0.0001; C=73.83, p<0.0001, and H=33.92, p<0.0001; C=33.34, p=0.0001, respectively), while discrimination was poor for medical patients (aROC=0.651) and modest for surgical patients (aROC=0.704). At the predicted risk of 50%, APACHE II had a sensitivity of 36.6% and a specificity of 87.4% for hospital mortality. CONCLUSION: For Koreans, the APACHE II exhibits poor calibration and modest discrimination for hospital mortality. Therefore, a new model is needed to accurately predict mortality in critically ill Korean patients.

Pain in preterm infants: effects of sex, gestational age, and neonatal illness severity

Neonates hospitalized in a neonatal intensive care unit are exposed to many painful and stressful procedures. Biobehavioral pain reactivity in preterm infants during the neonatal period may reflect the capacity of the central nervous system to regulate arousal and neurobiological organization. We review empirical studies on the effects of sex, gestational age, and neonatal illness severity on pain reactivity in children born preterm. A literature search was conducted using PubMed, Institute of Scientific Information Web of Science, PsycINFO, Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature, and Scientific Electronic Library Online databases. Additionally, a special search was performed in online journals that publish pain studies including Pain, Early Human Development, European Journal of Pain, and Pain Management Nursing. The literature search covered the period from 2004 to 2009. Data were extracted according to predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Of the 18 studies reviewed, 16 analyzed gestational age, 13 examined neonatal illness severity, and eight focused on sex. Most of the studies analyzed more than one of these three variables. The majority of the studies found effects of gestational age (n = 14) and neonatal illness severity (n = 11) on pain responses. Only two studies found an influence of sex on infant pain responses. In conclusion, gestational age and neonatal illness severity influence pain responses in infants born preterm. Further studies should be conducted to examine the influence of sex on pain responses.

Comparison between several illness severity scores for neonates / 国际儿科学杂志

Neonatal illness severity score is a scoring system for assessing severity of illness,predicting mortality and guiding clinical work in neonatal intensive care units.It plays an important role in the progressive development of neonatology.This article introduces and compares several illness severity scores commonly used in the world.Compared with score for neonatal acute physiology ( SNAP),score for neonatal acute physiology perinatal extension(SNAPPE) and our country's neonatal illness severity score,cinical risk index for Babies ( CRIB ),score for neonatal acute physiology version Ⅱ ( SNAP-Ⅱ),simplified version of the score for neonatal acute physiology (SNAPPE-Ⅱ) and clinical risk index for babies-revised (CRIB-Ⅱ) simplify the variables,weight the items scientifically,cost less time and predict the motality risk reliably.In conclusion,CRIB,SNAP-Ⅱ,SNAPPE-Ⅱ and CRIB-Ⅱ have better practicability and need to be promoted.

Microalbuminuria and the prognosis of the serious patients / 国际外科学杂志

Microalbuminuria is regarded as a reflection of increased capillary permeability associated with the systemic inflammatory response syndrome. It is obversed that many medical diseases such as diabetes,kidney disease and cardiovascular disease may result in microalbuminuria and reported microalbuminuria with correlation of the prognosis of the serious patients. This article reviews ,microalbuminuria with correlation of the prognosis of the serious patients, the value of predicting illness severity in the serious patients.

A Study of Factors Affecting Time of First Stool in Premature Infants

PURPOSE: To assess the effect of gestational age and illness severity, and the effect of antenatal exposure to magnesium sulfate, glucocorticoids, and antibiotics, on the timing of the first stool in preterm infants. METHODS: Medical records of all preterm infants admitted to the neonatal ward at Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital between March 1998 and August 1998 were reviewed. We studied the time of the first stool in 55 infants. RESULTS: The median age of the infant at the time of first stool was 18 hours, and 90% of the infants passed stool by 50 hours. Both the gestational age and the illness severity, as measured by the score for neonatal acute physiology(SNAP), correlated significantly with the timing of the first stool(r=0.47 and P<0.001 for SNAP; r=0.29 and P<0.05 for gestational age). An analysis of covariance showed that the relationship between SNAP and the timing of the first stool was significant even after adjustment for gestational age(P<0.01), but the relationship between the gestational age and the timing of the first stool was not significant after adjustment for SNAP (P=0.14). Antenatal exposure to magnesium sulfate for tocolysis, glucocorticoids for enhancing fetal lung maturity, and antibiotics, had no effect on the timing of the first stool. CONCLUSION: Delayed passage of first stool is a function of illness severity, not of gestational immaturity. Antenatal exposure to magnisium sulfate, dexamethasone, and antibiotics, does not affect the timing of first stool in premature infants.

A Study of Factors Affecting Time of First Stool in Premature Infants

PURPOSE: To assess the effect of gestational age and illness severity, and the effect of antenatal exposure to magnesium sulfate, glucocorticoids, and antibiotics, on the timing of the first stool in preterm infants. METHODS: Medical records of all preterm infants admitted to the neonatal ward at Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital between March 1998 and August 1998 were reviewed. We studied the time of the first stool in 55 infants. RESULTS: The median age of the infant at the time of first stool was 18 hours, and 90% of the infants passed stool by 50 hours. Both the gestational age and the illness severity, as measured by the score for neonatal acute physiology(SNAP), correlated significantly with the timing of the first stool(r=0.47 and P<0.001 for SNAP; r=0.29 and P<0.05 for gestational age). An analysis of covariance showed that the relationship between SNAP and the timing of the first stool was significant even after adjustment for gestational age(P<0.01), but the relationship between the gestational age and the timing of the first stool was not significant after adjustment for SNAP (P=0.14). Antenatal exposure to magnesium sulfate for tocolysis, glucocorticoids for enhancing fetal lung maturity, and antibiotics, had no effect on the timing of the first stool. CONCLUSION: Delayed passage of first stool is a function of illness severity, not of gestational immaturity. Antenatal exposure to magnisium sulfate, dexamethasone, and antibiotics, does not affect the timing of first stool in premature infants.