Search

Objectives: Addressing the research gap on neonatal preterm birth's global impact, this study aims to present a detailed analysis of its incidence and mortality rates from 1990 to 2019, capturing the disease burden's evolution during this timeframe., Methods: We analyzed Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 data across 204 countries to assess age-standardized incidence, prevalence, mortality, and DALYs for neonatal preterm birth from 1990 to 2019, along with EPAC and risk factors., Results: From 1990 to 2019, EPAC for neonatal death at 0-6 days was -1.75 %, and DALYs was -1.75 %. For deaths under 5 years, EPAC was -2.23 %, and DALYs was -2.19 %. Key risk factors for neonatal preterm birth DALYs included low birth weight, gestational age, ambient air pollution, and household pollution from solid fuels., Conclusions: Preterm birth notably increases neonatal risks at 0-6 days and under 5 years. Our study shows diseased disease burdens in these periods. Preventive strategies, such as reducing household and ambient air pollution, are crucial for preterm birth reduction. Tailored regional interventions are essential., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Resumen: La historia de los inicios en Chile de la implementación nacional de las unidades de cuidados intensivos neonatales, y por ende de los inicios de la neonatología moderna en Chile, es de visionarios motivados exclusivamente por el profundo deseo de mejorar la sobrevida y calidad de vida de pequeños que nacían, muy a su pesar, antes de tiempo. Es una historia que, como muchas otras del desarrollo de la medicina, vale la pena relatar no solo por los logros que alcanzó, sino que también por el proceso de gestación y desarrollo en sí. Recordaremos para ello primero la historia de los orígenes y desarrollo del cuidado de los recién nacidos en el mundo, su avance gradual en el siglo XIX y principios del siglo XX, su consolidación a partir de la década de los 60, y finalmente su impulso en Chile con especial mención de la gestación del programa nacional de cuidados intensivos de prematuros en la década de los 80. Summary: The story of the onset of nationwide implementation of neonatal intensive care units in Chile, and therefore the beginnings of modern neonatology in Chile, is a story of visionaries motivated exclusively by a deep desire to improve the survival rate and quality of life of the little ones who were born, much to their regret, before their time. It is a story that, like many others of advances in medicine, is worth telling not only for the achievements acomplished but also for the gestation and development process itself. We’ll begin this story by recalling the history of the origins and development of newborn care in the world, its gradual growth in the 19th and early 20th centuries, its consolidation from the 1960s onward and finally its development in Chile, with special focus on the gestation of the national program of intensive care for premature infants in the 1980s.

Objective: Antenatal corticosteroids (ACSs) are administered to pregnant individuals at high risk of preterm delivery to reduce neonatal morbidity and mortality. ACSs have a limited timeframe of effectiveness, and timing of administration can be difficult because of uncertainty surrounding the likelihood of preterm delivery. The objective of the current study was to design a decision analysis model to optimize the timing of ACS administration and identify important model variables that impact administration timing preference., Methods: We created a Markov decision analysis model with a base case of a patient at 24 0 weeks gestation with antepartum hemorrhage. Decision strategies included immediate, delayed, and no ACS administration. Outcomes were based on the neonatal perspective and consisted of lifetime quality adjusted life years (QALYs). Data for model inputs were derived from current literature and clinical recommendations., Results: Our base case analysis revealed a preferred strategy of delaying ACSs for 2 weeks, which maximized QALYs (39.18 lifetime discounted), driven by reduced neonatal morbidity at the expense of 0.1% more neonatal deaths, when compared with immediate ACS administration. Sensitivity analyses identified that, if the probability of delivery within the next week was >6.19%, then immediate steroids were preferred. Other important variables included gestational age, ACS effectiveness, and ACS adverse effects., Conclusion: ACS timing involves a trade-off between morbidity and mortality, and optimal timing depends on probability of delivery, gestational age, and risks and benefits of ACSs. Clinicians should carefully consider these factors prior to ACS administration., (Copyright © 2021 The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada/La Société des obstétriciens et gynécologues du Canada. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To compare risks of infection and prematurity-related outcomes according to latency periods among women with preterm prelabour rupture of membranes (PPROM)., Methods: Women with PPROM occurring between 24+0 and 36+6 weeks of gestation were identified from a provincial population-based perinatal database in Nova Scotia. The primary outcomes included composite variables for serious maternal and neonatal infectious morbidity and neonatal prematurity-related morbidity. Logistic regression was used to quantify the relationship between latency period (< 24 hours, 24 hours to < 48 hours, 48 hours to < 7 days, and ≥ 7 days) and maternal and neonatal outcomes. Separate analyses were conducted for gestational age groups 24+0 to 33+6 weeks and 34+0 to 36+6 weeks., Results: There were 4329 women included in the cohort. The composite variables representing serious maternal or neonatal infectious morbidity were not significantly associated with latency for either gestational age group. For PPROM occurring at gestational ages of 24+0 to 33+6 weeks, the odds of neonatal prematurity-related morbidity were significantly decreased at the latency periods of 48 hours or more compared with < 24 hours latency. For PPROM at 34+0 to 36+6 weeks of gestation, the odds of prematurity-related morbidity at 48 hours to < 7 days latency was decreased compared with latencies < 24 hours (OR 0.4; 95% CI 0.2 to 0.8)., Conclusion: Postponing delivery following PPROM may contribute to less prematurity-related morbidity, even close to term, without putting mother or neonate at substantial risk for serious infectious morbidity. Generalization of these findings to other obstetric populations should be informed by the underlying risk of infection.