The Association Between Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy and Thyroid Hormones.

We aimed to compare serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and free thyroxine (fT4) levels in neonates with different hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) stages undergoing therapeutic hypothermia (TH), and to evaluate the TSH and fT4 levels in neonates with HIE/TH in comparison with a control group. This was a retrospective study conducted between January 2020 and December 2022. The neonates with HIE/TH constituted the study group and the neonates with transient tachypnea of the newborn (TTN) constituted the control group. The study group consisted of neonates with stage 2 and stage 3 HIE. Serum TSH and fT4 levels measured at postnatal fifth day were compared between the groups. Of the 202 (47.1%) neonates included in the study group, 144 (71.3%) had stage 2 HIE and 58 (28.7%) had stage 3 HIE. In the control group, there were 227 (52.9%) newborns. Serum TSH and fT4 levels were found to be lower in the newborns with stage 3 HIE compared with those with stage 2 HIE (p = 0.015, 0.002, respectively). Although the serum TSH level was higher in the newborns with HIE compared with the newborns with TTN, serum fT4 levels did not change between the groups (p = < 0.001, 0.14, respectively). When we made the analysis according to the reference intervals, HIE/TH was associated with higher rates of TSH elevation compared with TTN, and the difference was more pronounced in stage 2 HIE/TH (p < 0.001). Although stage 3 HIE/TH was significantly associated with higher rates of low fT4 compared with TTN (p = 0.006), this relationship was not significant between stage 2 HIE/TH and TTN. It would be reasonable to interpret thyroid function tests performed on the fifth day with caution in newborns with HIE/TH, because higher TSH and lower fT4 levels on the fifth day in this patient group may result in unnecessary repetition of tests.

Adrenal congestion in perinatal hypoxia: Sonographic assessment and relationship with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy.

BACKGROUND: During hypoxia, blood flow to the brain, myocardium, and adrenal glands is preserved or even increased to maintain homeostasis. Adrenal congestion occurs when venous return remains insufficient. Several different ultrasound measurements of adrenal glands in neonates have been reported in the literature. However, there is no data related on adrenal gland size in neonates with perinatal hypoxia. AIMS: To evaluate the adrenal congestion using by ultrasound (US) measurements in perinatal hypoxia, and to reveal the relationship of adrenal congestion with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) grades and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SUBJECTS: Infants with perinatal hypoxia who met therapeutic hypothermia criteria and were being cooled were included in the present study. The control group was established from healthy neonates admitted to our center during the recruitment. OUTCOME MEASURES: The gland area was measured by tracing, and both the corpus and crura widths were measured. RESULTS: We reported adrenal gland area data of 110 newborns with HIE and compared them with 56 normal neonates. The adrenal size was significantly higher in the HIE group than in the control group (p<0,01). The frequency of adrenal congestion was 72.7% based on the selected cut-off values. The adrenal gland measurements were increased in the patients with perinatal hypoxia than those of the controls. CONCLUSIONS: In the systemic evaluation of newborns with perinatal hypoxia, additional care should be taken regarding adrenal congestion. The measurement of adrenal size with 2D US will help us to diagnose or confirm adrenal congestion and possible hemorrhagic changes. The morphological data and cut-off values given in our study will be useful for neonatologists and pediatric radiologists to evaluate the patient while managing perinatal hypoxia.

The efficacy of oral motor interventions on feeding outcomes in newborns with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy who received therapeutic hypothermia.

BACKGROUND: Feeding difficulties continue to be a serious problem in newborns with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) undergoing therapeutic hypothermia (TH). The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of oral motor interventions (OMI) on feeding outcomes in neonates with HIE/TH. METHODS: This was a prospective randomised control study conducted between January 2022 and September 2022. Premature Infant Oral Motor Intervention (PIOMI) was used as OMI. Newborns with HIE/TH, who underwent PIOMI, constituted the study group, and newborns, who did not receive any feeding exercise, constituted the control group. Transition time to full oral feeding (FOF) was determined as the time between initiation of tube feeding and full oral breastfeeding or bottle feeding. The day per oral (PO) feeding was started was specified as PO first, the day the infants could take half of the volume of the feedings by mouth was PO half, and the day the infants could take all the feedings by mouth was PO full. RESULTS: There were 50 neonates in each group. Time to FOF was significantly shorter in the study group than in the control group in all stages of HIE/TH (P= 0.008 for stage 1, and < 0.001 for stage 2 and 3 HIE). However, times to PO first, PO half, PO full and discharge were shorter in the study group than in the control group only in the neonates with stage 3 HIE (P= 0.003, 0.014, 0.013, 0.042, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The PIOMI, which could be named as `HIE-OMI` in our study, is an effective intervention in shortening the transition time to FOF in neonates with all stages of HIE undergoing TH. In addition, `HIEOMI` shortens the length of hospital stay, and improves feeding outcomes in neonates with severe HIE/TH.

Respiratory problems in preterm infants with pulmonary hemorrhage.

AIM: Pulmonary hemorrhage is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in premature infants. There are few studies on pulmonary hemorrhage and associated morbidities observed in premature. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible relationship between pulmonary hemorrhage and respiratory problems in premature infants. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Premature infants aged 25-32 weeks who were born between January 2014 and January 2018 in the neonatal intensive care unit were included to the study. Of these premature infants, 28 were patients diagnosed as pulmonary hemorrhage and 56 were control cases with the same demographic characteristics without pulmonary hemorrhage. From the medical records of infants; clinical course characteristics such as duration of ventilation, duration of oxygen supplementation, hospital stay were detailed. The data was analyzed statistically. RESULTS: The duration of mechanical ventilation was significantly longer in the pulmonary bleeding group than in the control group (p: .001). There was a significant difference between the groups in terms of moderate and severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and the rate of BPD in the pulmonary hemorrhage group was higher than in the control group (17.2%-53.6%; p: .001). In addition, pulmonary hemorrhage group had significant patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) and preterm retinopathy (ROP) rate compared with control group. DISCUSSION: This study implicated that, pulmonary hemorrhage is related with respiratory morbidities in preterm infants such as BPD and prolonged respiratory support. At the same time, the other morbidities such as ROP prolonged hospitalization are higher in infants with pulmonary hemorrhage. CONCLUSION: In the follow-up of patients with pulmonary hemorrhage, defining respiratory problems and treatment and prophylaxis of comorbid conditions may be planned sooner.

Red cell distribution width and its association with retinopathy of prematurity.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether there is a relationship between red cell distribution width (RDW) values and the development of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in premature infants. METHODS: This retrospective study was conducted on a total of 159 infants with gestational age (GA) < 35 weeks including 77 infants diagnosed as ROP (patients' group) and 82 infants without ROP (control group) between September 2015 and January 2018. RDW values of the preterm infants were obtained from their medical records (routine postpartum cord blood sample and follow-up venous blood samples taken at first week, second week and first month). The possible relationship between RDW values and clinical features of ROP development was evaluated. RESULTS: The mean GA of all infants was 29.2 ± 2.4 (24-35) weeks, and the mean birth weight was 1268 ± 419 (550-2500) g. The RDW values measured in the first and the second weeks were significantly higher in infants with ROP compared with those wihout ROP (p < .001 for both). There was no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of cord blood and first month RDW values (p = .719, p = .108, respectively). The first and second week's RDW values of infants with ROP requiring treatment (severe ROP) were significantly higher than those of infants with ROP not requiring treatment (mild ROP) (p = .005, p = .031, respectively), but no statistically significant difference was observed between the groups in terms of cord blood and first month values (p = .114 and p = .371, respectively). CONCLUSION: RDW is an easily accessible and inexpensive marker that may reflect the clinical risk factors for ROP. Follow-up measures of RDW have the potential to help clinicians for the prediction of ROP development in the first 2 weeks postnatally.

The effect of combined therapy for treatment of monotherapy-resistant PDA in preterm infants.

Objective: Hemodynamically significant PDA (hsPDA) is one of the most common problems in preterm infants. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of combined pharmacological (paracetamol + ibuprofen) therapy on monotherapy-resistant hsPDA in infants. Subject and methods: The study included infants with persistent hsPDA, unresponsive to monotherapy. Combined treatment (paracetamol + ibuprofen) was started as paracetamol at a dose of 15 mg/kg every 6 hours for 5 days, and ibuprofen at an initial dose of 10 mg/kg followed by 5 mg/kg at 24 and 48 hours. Echocardiographic evaluation was performed at 2 days after the end of treatment. If hsPDA persisted after the combined treatment, a surgical PDA ligation was considered. Results: A total of 12 infants were enrolled and 9 infants (75%) with monotherapy-resistant PDA were successfully treated with combined therapy. In three patients, no response was obtained to the combined treatment so surgical ligation was applied. Conclusions: Combined therapy may be a useful treatment option for monotherapy-resistant hsPDA in preterm infants. Before surgical ligations, this combined therapy option should be considered.