Surgical interventions and short-term outcomes for preterm infants with post-haemorrhagic hydrocephalus: a multicentre cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To (1) describe differences in types and timing of interventions, (2) report short-term outcomes and (3) describe differences among centres from a large national cohort of preterm infants with post-haemorrhagic hydrocephalus (PHH). DESIGN: Cohort study of the Children's Hospitals Neonatal Database from 2010 to 2022. SETTING: 41 referral neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in North America. PATIENTS: Infants born before 32 weeks' gestation with PHH defined as acquired hydrocephalus with intraventricular haemorrhage. INTERVENTIONS: (1) No intervention, (2) temporising device (TD) only, (3) initial permanent shunt (PS) and (4) TD followed by PS (TD-PS). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Mortality and meningitis. RESULTS: Of 3883 infants with PHH from 41 centres, 36% had no surgical intervention, 16% had a TD only, 19% had a PS only and 30% had a TD-PS. Of the 46% of infants with TDs, 76% were reservoirs; 66% of infants with TDs required PS placement. The percent of infants with PHH receiving ventricular access device placement differed by centre, ranging from 4% to 79% (p<0.001). Median chronological and postmenstrual age at time of TD placement were similar between infants with only TD and those with TD-PS. Infants with TD-PS were older and larger than those with only PS at time of PS placement. Death before NICU discharge occurred in 12% of infants, usually due to redirection of care. Meningitis occurred in 11% of the cohort. CONCLUSIONS: There was significant intercentre variation in rate of intervention, which may reflect variability in care or referral patterns. Rate of PS placement in infants with TDs was 66%.

Effects of prenatal exposure to cigarette smoke on use of xanthine and pneumogram evaluation at discharge in premature infants.

OBJECTIVE: Prenatal exposure to cigarette smoke is associated with an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome and possible rate increase of obstructive apnea in full-term infants but unknown in premature infants. Therefore, the objective was to study the effect of prenatal exposure to cigarette smoke on the use of methylxanthines and discharge pneumograms in premature infants. METHODS: Preterm infants [gestational age (GA) ≤34 weeks] born between January 1997 and September 2007 were studied. A four-channel pneumogram was performed at discharge. Relevant clinical data were collected from the infant's records. Infants with prenatal exposure to cigarette smoke were compared with infants not exposed (controls). RESULTS: A total of 1656 infants were studied: 263 infants {birth weight (BW) (mean ± SD) 1682 ± 566 g, GA 31.0 ± 2.8 weeks} exposed to prenatal cigarette smoke and 1393 infants (BW 1638 ± 575 g, GA 31.1 ± 2.7 weeks) not exposed. Baseline patient characteristics were similar between the two groups. When comparing the smoking versus control groups, there was no significant difference in the infants for the following: xanthine therapy and abnormal pneumograms; presence of central, obstructed or mixed apnea and home discharge on monitors, oxygen and xanthines. CONCLUSIONS: Prenatal exposure to cigarette smoke was not associated with increased use of xanthines or abnormal pneumogram in premature infants.

Utility of performing routine head ultrasounds in preterm infants with gestational age 30-34 weeks.

BACKGROUND: The American Academy of Neurology and Child Neurology Society recommend performing routine screening head ultrasounds (HUS) on preterm infants of less than 30 weeks gestation. OBJECTIVE: To study the incidence of intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) and evaluate the need for screening HUS in preterm infants with gestational age (GA) of 30-34 weeks. DESIGN/METHODS: Preterm infants (GA; 30-34 weeks) admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) between January 1997 and September 2007 were included in this study. Grades of IVH were defined as per the Papile classification. RESULTS: Screening HUS were performed on 463 infants with GA of 30-34 weeks. Twenty-seven (5.8%) infants had abnormal cranial ultrasound (US) (IVH or periventricular leucomalacia [PVL]). The incidence of IVH ranged from 3.3% to 6.3% at various GA. Seven (1.5%) infants had severe abnormalities on HUS (grades III/IV or PVL). CONCLUSIONS: A significant number of infants born between 30 and 34 weeks of gestation have abnormalities on screening cranial US. Since not all infants born at 30-34 weeks of gestation received a HUS, the incidence of HUS abnormalities might have been overestimated due to a possible 'selection bias'. Additional studies are needed to examine the adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes in this group of preterm infants with mild abnormalities (IVH grades I or II) on cranial US before recommending routine screenings for IVH.

The effect of comprehensive infection control measures on the rate of late-onset bloodstream infections in very low-birth-weight infants.

Late-onset bloodstream infection (LOBI) is a significant problem in very low-birth-weight (VLBW) infants and can lead to increased mortality and morbidity. The incidence of LOBI in VLBW infants in our unit was >35% before 2004, much higher than 20% reported in other studies. A comprehensive infection control measure was introduced in our unit in 2005. Here we report the effects of comprehensive infection control measures on the rate of LOBI in VLBW infants. Infants in the preintervention group (born 2001 to 2004) were compared with the intervention group (born 2005 to 2008) for baseline demographics, risk factors for infection, and the rate of LOBI. LOBI was defined as a positive blood and/or cerebrospinal fluid culture after 3 days of life. Three hundred thirty-four VLBW infants were admitted to our unit during the preintervention period and 303 during the intervention period. There was no significant difference in baseline demographics and risk factors for LOBI between the two groups. The incidence of LOBI was significantly reduced from 38% before intervention to 23% after intervention ( P < 0.001). Comprehensive infection control measures significantly reduced the rate of LOBI in VLBW infants.

Twice-weekly fluconazole prophylaxis in premature infants: association with cholestasis.

BACKGROUND: Fluconazole prophylaxis is effective in preventing invasive candidiasis in extremely low-birthweight (ELBW) infants. The authors previously reported an increased incidence of cholestasis with fluconazole prophylaxis in ELBW infants, which led to fluconazole prophylaxis being changed to a less frequent dosing (LFD) schedule of twice a week at their institution. The purpose of the present study was therefore to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of LFD fluconazole prophylaxis in preventing invasive candidiasis in ELBW infants. METHODS: ELBW infants who received the LFD regimen of fluconazole (twice a week for up to 6 weeks) were compared with infants who received the frequent dosing (FD) schedule (every 72 h for first 2 weeks, every 48 h for next 2 weeks and every 24 h for the final 2 weeks). The two groups were compared for baseline demographics, risk factors for candidiasis, the rate of invasive fungal infection and the incidence and severity of cholestasis. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the incidence of invasive candidiasis in infants who received the LFD (2/104, 2%) compared to FD (0/140, 0%; P= 0.4) fluconazole prophylaxis. The severity of cholestasis was lower and a trend towards decreased incidence of cholestasis was observed on the LFD schedule. CONCLUSION: The LFD regimen of fluconazole prophylaxis is effective in preventing invasive fungal infection in ELBW infants. The severity of cholestasis was decreased with the LFD schedule.