Outcome of infants with a diagnosis of hydrops fetalis in the 1990s.

The diagnosis of Hydrops fetalis still carries a grave prognosis with reported mortality ranging from 50 to 100%. With the advent of more aggressive therapy, improvement of survival is undetermined. The study population of this outcome case series was gathered from all cases of hydrops fetalis admitted to our Loyola University Medical Center Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) from 1990 to 1997. Forty-one patients were eligible for inclusion. Only four had a diagnosis of immune hydrops fetalis, while the remainder had varied nonimmune causes. Models predicting survival were constructed with various neonatal and maternal factors as explanatory variables using Cox proportional Hazards technique. Kaplan-Meier estimates of median survival times for different stratifying variables were likewise computed. The overall mortality rate was 49% with an overall median survival time of 15 days (95% CI 8-38). Median survival time estimates differed significantly between patients who had (a) proven infection or not and (b) had less than or greater than two fluid-filled cavities. The use of steroids, surfactant, or high-frequency ventilation did not improve survival. Stratifying the study base into those treated in early or late 1990s likewise failed to show difference in survival times. Infection remains a significant problem (46%). In our series of 41 infants with hydrops fetalis, survival rates remain comparable to those reported in the literature, despite aggressive therapy. Although the use of surfactant, steroids, and high-frequency ventilation appear to prolong survival times, these treatments failed to alter overall survival outcome.

Neonatal hepatic abscess.

Neonatal liver abscess is a rare entity. There are no published reports of neonatal liver abscess in the radiology literature in the past 15 years. We recently encountered a premature infant in whom a hepatic abscess was diagnosed solely based on abnormal radiographic studies. We report this case to illustrate the unusual clinical and radiographic abnormalities seen with neonatal solitary hepatic abscess.

Morphine use and adverse effects in a neonatal intensive care unit.

Prescribing patterns and appropriateness of morphine use in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) were evaluated in a concurrent drug-use evaluation (DUE). Data were collected for 99 infants who received morphine over a six-month period. Patient charts were reviewed to collect the following data: patient's age, weight, dosage schedule, concurrent sedatives, ventilatory status, whether adequacy of analgesia was documented, and descriptions of adverse drug reactions (ADRs). The physicians' orders were reviewed to determine whether NICU morphine dosage guidelines were followed and whether the indication for use was noted. Seven ADRs occurred in six of the patients; three of the ADRs occurred after ophthalmic cryosurgery. Indications for use were noted in 79 of 285 physician orders (27.7%). The adequacy of sedation or analgesia was documented on 60 of the 360 patient days (16.7%). The DUE results prompted several changes: physicians were asked to select indications from a list in the computerized order-entry system, an analgesia or sedation assessment scale was added to nursing flow sheets, and endotracheal intubation became a requirement before ophthalmic cryosurgery. A follow-up DUE showed nearly complete compliance with the new guidelines for morphine use and a reduction in the number of adverse reactions to morphine. A DUE prompted policy changes that improved documentation of indications for and efficacy of morphine use and reduced adverse reactions to the drug in an NICU.

Cord blood thyrotropin screening for congenital hypothyroidism. Three years' experience on the Island of Saint Lucia.

Cord blood thyrotropin (TSH) screening for congenital primary hypothyroidism has been in effect on the island of St. Lucia for the past three years. Umbilical cord blood samples are obtained on Guthrie filter paper and then transported 3,000 miles to Loyola University of Chicago and delivered to the Illinois State Metabolic Screening Laboratory. There TSH is measured by radioimmunoassay (RIA). After three years, 1,789 newborns have been screened, and the mean value is 6.23 +/- 0.13 microIU per ml. This mean value is less than previously reported by us in 1986 (10.23 +/- 0.29 microIU per ml).13 It is concluded that this screening service continues to be possible far removed from the population under observation. No case of primary hypothyroidism has been detected. Our decreased mean TSH value is due to the new method currently used by the Illinois State Metabolic Screening Laboratory. Congenital hypothyroidism will not be missed provided internal controls are established and rigidly observed.

Cord blood thyrotropin screening for congenital hypothyroidism: three years' experience on the island of Saint Lucia

Cord blood thyrotropin (TSH) screening for congenital primary hypothyroidism has been in effect on the island of St. Lucia for the past three years. Umbilical cord blood samples are obtained on Guthrie filter paper and then transported 3,000 miles to Loyola University of Chicago and delivered to the Illinois State Metabolic Screening Laboratory. There TSH is measured by radioimmunoassay (RIA). After three years, 1,789 newborns have been screened, and the mean value is 6.23 +/-0.13 microIU per ml. This mean value is less than previously reported by us in 1986 (10.23 +/-0.29 microIU per ml.).13 It is concluded that this screening service continues to be possible far removed from the population under observation. No case of primary hypothyroidism has been detected. Our decreased mean TSH value is due to the new method currently used by the Illinois State Metabolic Screening Laboratory. Congenital hypothyroidism will not be missed provided internal controls are established and rigidly observed. (AU)

Cord blood thyrotropin screening for primary hypothyroidism on Caribbean island: a rapid communication.

Screening programs using determinations of serum thyroxine have demonstrated that congenital hypothyroidism occurs in one in 4,000 live births in North America. More than 90 percent of affected infants have primary hypothyroidism with elevated plasma thyrotropin (TSH) levels. Since the feasibility of newborn screening and incidence of congenital hypothyroidism in other less well developed areas of the world is not well defined, a study was undertaken of neonatal primary hypothyroid screening infants born on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia in the Lesser Antilles. Three hundred thirteen cord blood samples were collected on filter paper and transported 3,000 miles to Loyola University of Chicago, Stritch School of Medicine (LUMC). From LUMC, the samples were transported to the Illinois State Metabolic Screening Laboratory for determination of TSH by radioimmunoassay (RIA). In this group of newborns, the mean TSH level in cord blood was 10.23 +/- 0.29 microIU per ml (SEM). It is concluded that screening programs for neonatal primary hypothyroidism can be performed using reference laboratories far removed from the population under observation.