Audit of emergency obstetric referrals at a Tertiary Center in Kano

Introduction: Maternal and perinatal deaths could be prevented if functional referral systems are in place to allow pregnant women to get appropriate services when complications occur. Methodology: The study was a 1-year retrospective study of obstetric referrals in Aminu Kano Teaching hospital, from 1st January to 31st December 2019. Records of all emergency obstetrics patients referred to the hospital for 1 year were reviewed. A structured proforma was used to extract information such as sociodemographic characteristics of the patients, indications for referral, and pre-referral treatment. The care given at the receiving hospital was extracted from the patients' folders. An Audit standard was developed and the findings were compared with the standards in order to determine how the referral system in the study area perform in relation to the standard. Results: There were total of 180 referrals, the mean age of the women was 28.5 ± 6.3 years. Majority (52%) of the patients were referred from Secondary Centres and only 10% were transported with an ambulance. The most common diagnosis at the time of referral was severe preeclampsia. More than half of the patients (63%) had to wait for 30 to 60 minutes before they see a doctor. All the patients were offered high quality care and majority (70%) were delivered via caesarean section. Conclusion: There were lapses in the management of patients before referral; failure to identify high risk conditions, delay in referral, and lack of treatment during transit to the referral centre.

Association between ventilatory settings and pneumothorax in extremely preterm neonates

OBJECTIVES: Pneumothorax is a catastrophic event associated with high morbidity and mortality, and it is relatively common in neonates. This study aimed to investigate the association between ventilatory parameters and the risk of developing pneumothorax in extremely low birth weight neonates. METHODS: This single-center retrospective cohort study analyzed 257 extremely low birth weight neonates admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit between January 2012 and December 2017. A comparison was carried out to evaluate the highest value of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP), peak inspiratory pressure (PIP), and driving pressure (DP) in the first 7 days of life between neonates who developed pneumothorax and those who did not. The primary outcome was pneumothorax with chest drainage necessity in the first 7 days of life. A matched control group was created in order to adjust for cofounders associated with pneumothorax (CRIB II score, birth weight, and gestational age). RESULTS: There was no statistically significant difference in PEEP, PIP, and DP values in the first 7 days of life between extremely low birth weight neonates who had pneumothorax with chest drainage necessity and those who did not have pneumothorax, even after adjusting for potential cofounders. CONCLUSIONS: Pressure-related ventilatory settings in mechanically ventilated extremely low birth weight neonates are not associated with a higher risk of pneumothorax in the first 7 days of life.

Rapid versus slow feeding advancement in preterm low birth weight neonates: A systematic review and meta-analysis

@#<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Objectives:</strong> To compare the clinical outcomes of rapid versus slow enteral feeding advancement in preterm low birth weight neonates.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Methods:</strong> Searches for randomized controlled trials evaluating the effect of rapid versus slow rate of enteral feeding advancement on the clinical outcomes of preterm, low birth weight neonates were performed in different databases. Two authors screened the articles for inclusion and statistical analysis was done using Review Manager Version 5.3 (RevMan) software.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Results:</strong> Six trials with a total of 680 subjects comparing enteral feeding advancement protocols were identified. The number of days to reach full feeds in rapid enteral feeding was shorter by 2.79 days (95% CI 1.39, 4.19) and time to regain weight by 3.72 days (95% CI 2.86, 4.59) compared to slow enteral feeding. There was no significant difference in the incidence of feeding intolerance (OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.42, 1.11) and NEC (OR 0.88, 95% CI 0.45, 1.72) between the two groups.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Conclusions:</strong> Rapid enteral feeding protocols reduce the time to establish full enteral feeds and to regain birth weight in preterm low birth weight neonates. Rapid enteral feeding may facilitate early discharge and help reduce hospital costs for the care of these neonates.</p>

Role of neurosonography in neonates with clinically suspected intracranial pathology

Background: Preterm neonates have a higher mortality and morbidity because of their greater risk for intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy(HIE) which can lead to poor neurodevelopmental outcomes. The present study was conducted to evaluate neonates with clinically suspected intracranial pathology by neurosonography.Methods: Included neonates were those with clinically suspected intracranial pathology admitted to neonatal intensive care unit of the Bharati Vidyapeeth Medical College and Hospital (Deemed to be University), Sangli from October 2018 till December 2018. First cranial neurosonography was done between first and third day, second between 7th and 10th day of birth. HIE also known as Periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) grading was done using the De Varies et al, grading. Severity of ICH was graded according to Papile and Burstein classification(1978).Results: Of the total 60 neonates, 61.7% were preterm and rest at term. Mean APGAR score at 1 minute was 8.6 (range 5 to 10) and at 5 minutes was 9.58 (range 8 to 10). Mean ventricular index at the first assessment was 26.78% and 26.89% at the second assessment. Grade 1 HIE was found in 17 neonates on first assessment, and two had grade 2 HIE. Second assessment revealed grade 1 HIE in 20 neonates and grade 2 in two. First assessment revealed two neonates with grade 1 and grade 2 ICH, out of which one grade 2 ICH worsened to grade 3. Two neonates were found to have corpus callosal agenesis.Conclusions: Transcranial neurosonography stands as an excellent and reliable investigation of choice for neonates to detect HIE,ICH and intracranial congenital anomalies.

Aplicação clínica da ultrassonografia craniana com Doppler em neonatos prematuros de muito baixo peso / Clinical application of transcranial Doppler ultrasonography in premature, very-low-birth-weight neonates

OBJETIVO: Analisar o valor do diagnóstico precoce de alterações hemodinâmicas em hemorragias e eventos hipóxico-isquêmicos pela avaliação de imagens e mensuração do índice de resistência por meio da ultrassonografia craniana com Doppler em neonatos prematuros de muito baixo peso. MATERIAIS E MÉTODOS: Cinquenta neonatos prematuros de muito baixo peso foram submetidos a ultrassonografia craniana com Doppler com a técnica transfontanela anterior e transtemporal sequenciais. RESULTADOS: Foram detectadas alterações cerebrais em 32 por cento dos prematuros, sendo 22 por cento com hemorragia intracraniana, 8 por cento com leucomalácia periventricular e 2 por cento com toxoplasmose. Dentre os 34 casos (68 por cento), do total de neonatos, nos quais não foram detectadas lesões cerebrais pela ultrassonografia craniana, 18 (53 por cento) apresentaram alterações no índice de resistência. O índice de resistência variou conforme a época do exame. CONCLUSÃO: Existe correlação entre a presença de alterações na hemodinâmica cerebral e subsequente desenvolvimento de hemorragias e lesões hipóxico-isquêmicas, pela mensuração do índice de resistência. Alterações do índice de resistência, embora não preditoras de morte, estão relacionadas com a gravidade do quadro clínico em neonatos prematuros de muito baixo peso.

OBJECTIVE: The present study was aimed at analyzing the value of the early diagnosis of hemodynamic changes in hemorrhages and hypoxic-ischemic events in premature, very-low-birth-weight neonates through the evaluation of images and resistance index measurement by means of transcranial Doppler ultrasonography. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty premature, very-low-birth-weight neonates were submitted to transcranial Doppler ultrasonography with sequential transfontanellar and transtemporal techniques. RESULTS: Cerebral abnormalities were detected in 32 percent of the neonates (22 percent with intracranial hemorrhage, 8 percent with periventricular leukomalacia, and 2 percent with toxoplasmosis). Among the 34 cases (68 percent) of neonates in whom no brain lesion was detected at transcranial Doppler ultrasonography, 18 (53 percent) presented changes in the resistance index. Such resistance index varied according to the time of the examination. CONCLUSION: There is a correlation between the presence of cerebral hemodynamic changes demonstrated by resistance index measurements and the subsequent development of hemorrhages and hypoxic-ischemic lesions. Although not being a death predictor, changes in the resistance index are associated with the severity of the clinical conditions in preterm, very-low-birth-weight neonates.