Effect of sleep position in term healthy newborns on sudden infant death syndrome and other infant outcomes: A systematic review.

Background: Though recommended by numerous guidelines, adherence to supine sleep position during the first year of life is variable across the globe. Methods: This systematic review of randomized trials and observational studies assessed the effect of the supine compared to non-supine (prone or side) sleep position on healthy newborns. Key outcomes were neonatal mortality, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI), acute life-threatening event (ALTE), neurodevelopment, and positional plagiocephaly. We searched MEDLINE via PubMed, Cochrane CENTRAL, EMBASE, and CINAHL (updated till November 2021). Two authors separately evaluated the risk of bias, extracted data, and synthesised effect estimates using relative risk (RR) or odds ratio (OR). The GRADE approach was used to assess the certainty of evidence. Results: We included 54 studies (43 observational studies and 11 intervention trials) involving 474 672 participants. A single study meeting the inclusion criteria suggested that the supine sleep position might reduce the risk of SUDI (0-1 year; OR = 0.39, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.23-0.65; 384 infants), compared to non-supine position. Supine sleep position might reduce the risk of SIDS (0-1 year; OR = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.42-0.61; 26 studies, 59332 infants) and unexplained SIDS/severe ALTE (neonatal period; OR = 0.16, 95% CI = 0.03-0.82; 1 study, 119 newborns), but the evidence was very uncertain. Supine sleep position probably increased the odds of being 0.5 standard deviation (SD) below mean on Gross Motor Scale at 6 months (OR = 1.67, 95% CI = 1.22-2.27; 1 study, 2097 participants), but might have little to no effect at 18 months of age (OR = 1.16, 95% CI = 0.96, 1.43; 1 study, 1919 participants). An increase in positional plagiocephaly at 2-7 months of age with supine sleep position is possible (OR = 2.77, 95% CI = 2.06-3.72; 6 studies, 1774 participants). Conclusions: Low- to very low-certainty evidence suggests that supine sleep position may reduce the risk of SUDI (0-1 year) and SIDS (0-1 year). Limited evidence suggests that supine sleeping probably delays short-term 'gross motor' development at 6 months, but the effect on long-term neurodevelopment at 18 months may be negligible.

Topical emollient application in term healthy newborns: A systematic review.

Background: This systematic review of randomized trials assessed the effect of emollient application compared to no emollient application in term or near-term healthy newborns. Methods: We searched MEDLINE via PubMed, Cochrane CENTRAL, Embase, and CINAHL (updated until November 2021), clinical trials databases, and reference lists of retrieved articles. Key outcomes were neonatal mortality, systemic infections, atopic dermatitis, skin condition, and adverse events. Two authors separately evaluated the risk of bias, extracted data, and synthesized effect estimates using relative risks (RR). The GRADE approach was used to assess the certainty of evidence. Results: We screened 19 243 records and included 16 eligible trials involving 5643 participants. Five trials recruited 3352 healthy newborns (term = 728; gestation ≥35 weeks = 2624); and 11 trials included 2291 term newborns who were 'at risk' for developing atopy but were otherwise healthy. We conducted a separate analysis for these two groups of newborns. Emollient application (creams or nut, seed, and vegetable oils) started in the neonatal period and continued for four weeks to two years across studies. Meta-analysis for term healthy newborns suggests that topical emollient application may have little to no effect on atopic dermatitis (RR = 1.29, 95% CI = 0.96-1.72; two trials, 1408 newborns; low certainty evidence). Effects on food allergy (RR = 0.84; 95% CI = 0.42-1.70; one trial, 233 newborns), allergic sensitization to food allergens (RR 1.31; 95% CI 1.03 to 1.68; one trial, 234 newborns) and inhalational allergens (RR = 0.97; 95% CI = 0.44, 2.14; 1 trial, 234 newborns), skin dryness (RR = 0.74, 95% CI = 0.55-1.00; two trials, 294 newborns), and skin problems (RR = 0.92, 95% CI = 0.81-1.05; two trials, 292 newborns) were uncertain. Meta-analysis for 'at-risk' newborns suggests that intervention probably lowers the risk of atopic dermatitis (RR = 0.74, 95% CI = 0.63-0.86; 11 studies, 1988 infants; moderate certainty evidence), but may have little or no effect on food allergy and allergic sensitization to food or inhalation allergens. The effect on skin dryness and skin rash was uncertain. Conclusions: Topical emollient application may not prevent atopic dermatitis in term healthy newborns. There is little data for other skin and allergic outcomes. Registration: Priyadarshi M, Balachander B, Rao S, Gupta S, Sankar MJ. Use of emollients in term healthy newborns: A systematic review. PROSPERO 2020 CRD42020177437.

Clinical prediction score for nasal CPAP failure in pre-term VLBW neonates with early onset respiratory distress.

We prospectively observed 62 pre-term very low birth weight neonates initiated on nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) for respiratory distress in the first 24 h of life to devise a clinical score for predicting its failure. CPAP was administered using short binasal prongs with conventional ventilators. On multivariate analysis, we found three variables-gestation <28 weeks [adjusted odds ratio (OR) 6.5; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.5-28.3], pre-term premature rupture of membranes [adjusted OR 5.3; CI 1.2-24.5], and product of CPAP pressure and fraction of inspired oxygen ≥1.28 at initiation to maintain saturation between 88% and 93% [adjusted OR 3.9; CI 1.0-15.5] to be independently predictive of failure. A prediction model was devised using weighted scores of these three variables and lack of exposure to antenatal steroids. The clinical scoring system thus developed had 75% sensitivity and 70% specificity for prediction of CPAP failure (area under curve: 0.83; 95% CI 0.71-0.94).