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Background: Frequent and severe gastrointestinal disturbances have been reported with the use of diazoxide in adults and older children. However, no studies have investigated the incidence of necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) in diazoxide-exposed newborns.Objective: To evaluate a possible association between diazoxide treatment for neonatal hypoglycaemia and the occurrence of NEC.Design: Multicentre retrospective cohort study.Setting: Three tertiary neonatal intensive care units in Toronto, Canada.Patients: All patients treated with diazoxide for persistent hypoglycaemia between July 2012 and June 2017 were included. Overall incidence of NEC during those years on the participating units was obtained for comparison from the Canadian Neonatal Network database.Main Outcome: Incidence of NEC after diazoxide exposure.Results: Fifty-five neonates were exposed to diazoxide during the study period. Eighteen patients (33%) showed signs of feeding intolerance, and 7 developed NEC (13%). A diagnosis of NEC was more prevalent in the diazoxide-exposed, as compared with non-exposed infants of similar gestational age (OR 5.07, 95% CI 2.27 to 11.27; p<0.001), and greatest among infants born at 33-36 weeks' gestation (OR 13.76, 95% CI 3.77 to 50.23; p<0.001). All but one of the neonates diagnosed with NEC developed the disease within 7 days from initiation of diazoxide treatment.Conclusion: The present data suggest a possible association between diazoxide exposure and the development of NEC in neonates. Further evaluation of the diazoxide-associated risk of NEC in neonates treated for persistent hypoglycaemia is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To describe short-term and long-term outcomes of preterm neonates with severe acute pulmonary hypertension (aPHT) in relation to response to rescue inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) therapy.Design: Retrospective cohort studyover a 6 year period.Setting: Tertiary neonatal intensive care unit.Patients: 89 neonates <35 weeks gestational age (GA) who received rescue iNO for aPHT, including 62 treated at ≤3 days of age (early aPHT).Interventions: iNO ≥ 1 hour.Main Outcome Measures: Positive responders (reduction in fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2) ≥0.20 within 1 hour of iNO) were compared with non-responders. Primary outcome was survival without moderate-to-severe disability at 18 months of age.Results: Mean (SD) GA and birth weight was 27.7 (3.0) weeks and 1077 (473) gm, respectively. Median (IQR) pre-iNO FiO2 was 1.0 (1.0, 1.0). Positive response rate to iNO was 46%. Responders showed improved survival without disability (51% vs 15%; p<0.01), lower mortality (34% vs 71%; p<0.01) and disability among survivors (17% vs 50%; p=0.06). Higher GA (adjusted OR: 1.44 (95% CI 1.10 to 1.89)), aPHT in context of preterm prolonged rupture of membranes (6.26 (95% CI 1.44 to 27.20)) and positive response to rescue iNO (5.81 (95% CI 1.29 to, 26.18)) were independently associated with the primary outcome. Compared with late cases (>3 days of age), early aPHT had a higher response rate to iNO (61% vs 11%; p<0.01) and lower mortality (43% vs 78%; p<0.01).Conclusion: A positive response to rescue iNO in preterm infants with aPHT is associated with survival benefit, which is not offset by long-term disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the author offers information on the use of targeted neonatal echocardiography (TNE) in the cardiovascular management of sick infants in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). It mentions that the TNE can be performed with minimal disruption of infants simply by observing a set of soothing measures, including the use of a pacifier and prewarming the sonographic gel. It also mentions that the oral glucose solutions are recommended to reduce procedure-related stress in infants.

Umbilical venous catheters (UVCs) are frequently used in the neonatal intensive care setting and play a crucial role in the management of extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants. One very rare complication reported is parenteral nutrition (PN) ascites secondary to vessel perforation or hepatic erosion by PN at the tip of malpositioned UVCs with various hepatic lesions. We describe a case of early onset PN ascites with no obvious associated hepatic lesion but complicated by pre-renal acute renal failure in an ELBW infant with the tip positioned between the 10th and 11th thoracic vertebrae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present report concerns a case of unusually late presentation of lactobezoar, or inspissated milk curd obstruction, leading to necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) in an extremely low birthweight (ELBW) boy infant, born at 26 weeks gestation with a birth weight of 750 g. He deteriorated acutely on day 84 of postnatal age (corrected age 38 weeks) needing intermittent positive pressure ventilation (IPPV). Over the next 3 days he developed signs of NEC, though a radiograph showed no diagnostic features. In view of increasing abdominal distension, silent abdomen and increasing ventilatory requirements, an emergency exploratory laparotomy was performed. The laparotomy revealed inspissated milk curd obstruction in the terminal ileum. There was also a small area of NEC at the ileocaecal valve. A limited hemicolectomy was performed with creation of an ileostomy and mucous fistula. Following this procedure his clinical status improved. Feeds were reintroduced after 7 days and he was on full enteral feeds by 14 days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]