A Case of Neonatal Lupus Syndrome with Acute Myocarditis

Neonatal lupus is a model of passively acquired autoimmunity in which immune abnormalities in the mother lead to production of antibodies that cross the placenta and injure the developing fetus. The serologic markers for the diagnosis of neonatal lupus are auto-antibodies specific to SS-A/Ro and/or SS-B/La. More than 95% of affected infants are anti-SS-A/Ro positive. We experienced a neonatal lupus with acute myocarditis at 2 months of age. The baby was born in gestational age of 36 weeks with a birth weight of 2,350gm by Caesarean section. At birth, chest X-ray showed mild cardiomegaly, but electrocardiography and echocardiography were normal. Laboratory findings for LDH, CPK and CK-MB were increased above the normal range. At 2 months of age, controlled echocardiography showed dilated left ventricle(LV) dimension with decreased fractional shortening and ejection fraction. However, this infant did not show clinical symptoms of congestive heart failure. We followed up on this patient without giving any medical treatment. At 1 year of age, controlled echocardiography showed increased thickness of the posterior wall of LV, but the fractional shortening and ejection fraction returned to normal range.

Comparison of Capillary and Venous Bilirubin Values in Neonatal Jaundice

PURPOSE: Bilirubin values may vary depending on the site of sampling. The purpose of this study is to compare simultaneously obtained capillary and venous serum bilirubin to assess neonatal jaundice. METHODS: The subjects for the study included 135 healthy inborn as well as outborn full-term infants admitted to Dong-Eui Medical Center for evaluation of jaundice from May 1997 to February 1999. A paired capillary and venous sample was simultaneously drawn from each neonate, and their serum bilirubins were measured by direct spectrophotometric method. RESULTS: A high correlation between capillary and venous serum bilirubin(correlation coefficient(r) =0.949, P0.05), however, the mean venous bilirubin was significantly higher than the mean capillary bilirubin(mean difference;0.65+/-1.04 mg/dL, P0.05). CONCLUSION: There was a trend toward venous bilirubin being higher than capillary bilirubin at higher serum bilirubin levels. However, further studies are needed to ascer-tain the relationship between the site of the sampling and methodology in measurement of bilirubin.

Oral Agar and Conventional Phototherapy Combination in the Treament of Neonatal Hyperbilirubinemia

PURPOSE: Neonatal jaundice is one of the most common problems in our country leading to hospitalization. Agar is low cost, low risk, and easily fed orally; it can bind bilirubin in the intestine, decreasing its enterohepatic circulation, thereby decreasing serum bilirubin levels. At present, however, the effectiveness of agar in the prevention and treament of neonatal jaundice is quite conflicting and controversy. Recently we have read Caglayan's 'Superiority of Oral Agar and Phototherapy Combination in the Treatment of Neonatal Hyperbilirubinemia'. The result was very hopeful and attractive enough, and which gave us a motivation to study if it was really of value. METHODS: From May 1995 to April 1996, a total 50 term neonates admitted in nursery of Dong-Eui Medical Center with the capillary serum bilirubin levels greater than 10mg/ dl were enrolled in the study. Those with pathologic causes and breast fed infants were all excluded. The neonates were randomly devided into two groups; 25 of conventional phototherapy alone (P group) and 25 of oral agar plus conventional phototherapy combination (A+P group). The study was terminated when the capillary serum bilirubins were decreased to 8mg/dl. Pastagar B (Pasteur Institute 64946) 500mg in 10ml distilled water were fed four times a day using 10ml syringes prior to bottle feeding. Capillary serum bilirubin levels were measured daily at 10:00 a.m. with heel pad samples. Daily stool frequency and adverse effects of treatment were observed closely. RESULTS: 1) The decrement of the serum bilirubin levels at first 24 hours of therapy was significantly different between P and A+P groups showing as 1.7+/-1.2 and 2.4+/-1.0mg/dl respectively (p0.05). 3) No adverse effects such as rashes or abdominal pains were observed during treatment. Differences of mean stool frequency were significant between P and A+P groups showing as 3.7+/-1.2 and 4.7+/-2.0 times per day respectively (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The agar plus conventional phototherapy combination was superior to conventional phototherapy alone at first 24 hours of therapy in neonatal hyperbilirubinemia, but further more careful researches would be necessary for using it routinely in the treatment of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia in future.