Prevention of meconium aspiration syndrome: an update and the Baylor experience.

The approach to preventing meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS) in the newborn has changed markedly over the last 30 years. In the late 1970s, all infants born through meconium-stained amniotic fluid (MSAf) had upper-airway suctioning before delivery of the shoulders and then had tracheal intubation and suctioning in the delivery room. Now suctioning of the upper airway is no longer recommended, and only "depressed" infants are intubated for tracheal suctioning. The incidence of MAS and the associated high mortality rate have both declined significantly over time. This is due to improved antepartum and intrapartum obstetrical management as well as the postdelivery resuscitation of the neonate born through MSAf. MAS is no longer considered to be solely a postnatal disorder that is preventable with routine delivery room suctioning of the trachea; rather, it is considered a complex and multifactorial disorder with antenatal as well as intrapartum factors. The incidence and severity of MAS have been positively affected by a combined obstetrical and neonatal approach to the infant born through MSAf. In this article, we detail our experience at Baylor University Medical Center with MAS and its prevention and review the current literature.

Prevention of protein deprivation in the extremely low birth weight infant: a nutritional emergency.

Insufficient nutrient supply in preterm infants and protein deprivation in particular can represent a nutritional emergency. It can cause many of the features of the starvation response, including insulin resistance and hyperglycemia, as well as growth failure and neurological injury. At Baylor University Medical Center, we began providing intravenous protein on the first day of life to extremely low birth weight infants in 2000. This has led to significant improvements in the time to regain birth weight and the rate of daily weight gain during the first month of life. While neonatologists traditionally focus first on newborns' warmth, respiratory support, and cardiovascular support, early aggressive nutrition support, in the form of intravenous amino acids at time of admission as well as glucose, is of great benefit and should be a standard element in the initial care of the extremely low birth weight infant.

Medical futility in the neonatal intensive care unit: hope for a resolution.

Contemporary medical practice in the NICU sometimes leads to conflicts between providers and parents in which the parent demands continuation of life-sustaining treatment that the medical team deems medically inappropriate or futile. Such conflicts can be difficult to resolve and trying for all parties. Here we describe a conflict involving a 25-week-gestation, 825-g newborn with multiple intractable medical problems and resolution of the conflict through ethics consultation under provisions of the Texas Advance Directives Act. The process established under Texas law sets conceptual and temporal boundaries around the problem of medical futility and provides a legal safe harbor for physicians who seek to withdraw life-sustaining treatments in the setting of medical futility, allowing resolution of such conflicts in a timely and effective manner. As such, it may provide a model for physicians in other states to follow.

Evaluation and development of potentially better practices for the prevention of brain hemorrhage and ischemic brain injury in very low birth weight infants.

OBJECTIVE: Neonatal care providers from 5 institutions formed a multidisciplinary focus group with the purpose of identifying potentially better practices, the implementation of which would lead to a reduction in the incidence of intracranial hemorrhage and periventricular leukomalacia in very low birth weight infants. METHODS: Practices were analyzed, 4 benchmark neonatal intensive care units were identified and evaluated, and the literature was assessed using an evidence-based approach. The work was also reviewed by a nationally respected expert. RESULTS: Ten potentially better clinical practices were identified. In addition, variability in cranial ultrasound practice, related to both procedural process and interpretation, was identified as a confounding problem in evaluating quality. Using the same process, potentially better cranial ultrasound practices were also identified. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of these practices will improve clinical outcomes as well as the reliability of sonogram interpretation, the basis for evaluating the quality of the team's work.

Implementation of potentially better practices for the prevention of brain hemorrhage and ischemic brain injury in very low birth weight infants.

OBJECTIVE: Using an evidence-based approach, a Vermont Oxford Network focus group whose goal was to reduce brain injury developed and implemented a number of potentially better practices. Each center approached implementation of the practices differently. Reducing the incidence of intraventricular hemorrhage and periventricular leukomalacia are important for improving long-term outcomes for low birth weight infants. METHODS: Implementation approaches for some but not all of the practices at the various centers are discussed. The practices reviewed include optimal peripartum management, such as resuscitation, avoidance of hypothermia, optimal surfactant delivery, early neonatal management by the most experienced providers, and measures to minimize pain and stress. Additional practices include maintenance of neutral head positioning, fluid volume therapy for hypotension, indomethacin prophylaxis, ventilator management, avoidance of routine suctioning, and limiting the use of sodium bicarbonate and postnatal dexamethasone. RESULTS: Approaches to implementation were center specific, and results vary. Although some practices were easier to implement than others, communication, education, and leadership were critical to the process. CONCLUSIONS: The quality improvement multidisciplinary approach is a useful tool for finding ways to reduce the incidence of intraventricular hemorrhage and periventricular leukomalacia.

Gentamicin and tobramycin in neonates: comparison of a new extended dosing interval regimen with a traditional multiple daily dosing regimen.

Because of a lack of data supporting traditional dosing regimens for aminoglycosides, especially in extremely low-birth-weight infants, the authors developed revised dosing guidelines. The new guidelines increased doses to 5 mg/kg (over traditional doses of 2.5 mg/kg) and lengthened the dosing interval. When results of the two regimens were compared in 120 infants, 26.8% of infants in the traditional dosing group had subtherapeutic levels at <5 microg/mL, whereas only 1.3% of infants in the new practice dosing group were subtherapeutic. With the new dosing practice, serum levels in 1.3% of infants also exceeded the upper therapeutic range of 12 microg/mL. In conclusion, by increasing the dose of aminoglycosides and extending the dosing intervals, therapeutic levels-as defined by a C min <2 microg/mL and a C max of 5 to 12 microg/mL--were obtained significantly more often. In essence the regimen involves once daily dosing for infants <1200 g who are >30 days of age and for infants <1200 g who are >7 days of age. Serum concentrations still need to be monitored where clinically indicated.