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This case report describes a 5-day-old term infant with necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). The clinical presentation, diagnostic reasoning, current literature, hospital course, and follow-up are discussed. Necrotizing enterocolitis is a gastrointestinal emergency characterized by severe inflammation and ischemic necrosis of the intestinal mucosa. Usually a condition of prematurity, NEC primarily occurs in very low birth weight premature infants. Necrotizing enterocolitis can be managed medically or surgically, depending on the severity. Although the etiology of NEC is unknown, the clinical presentation includes abdominal distention and tenderness, feeding intolerance, grossly bloody stools, and severe hypotension and acidosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electroencephalography (EEG) is the reference tool for the analysis of brain function, reflecting normal and pathological neuronal network activity. During the neonatal period, EEG patterns evolve weekly, according to gestational age. The first analytical criteria for the various maturational stages and standardized neonatal EEG terminology were published by a group of French neurophysiologists training in Paris (France) in 1999. These criteria, defined from analog EEG, were completed in 2010 with digital EEG analysis. Since then, this work has continued, aided by the technical progress in EEG acquisition, the improvement of knowledge on the maturating processes of neuronal networks, and the evolution of critical care. In this review, we present an exhaustive and didactic overview of EEG characteristics from extremely premature to full-term infants. This update is based on the scientific literature, enhanced by the study of normal EEGs of extremely premature infants by our group of neurophysiologists. For educational purposes, particular attention has been paid to illustrations using new digital tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Perinatal hemorrhagic stroke in late preterm and term neonates is understudied. We describe two-month and two-year neurological outcomes in a prospective cohort.Methods: Neonates ≥36 weeks' gestation with spontaneous hemorrhagic stroke (parenchymal and intraventricular) presenting at age ≤28 days were enrolled between March 2007 and May 2015 at three tertiary pediatric centers. Hemorrhagic transformation of arterial ischemic stroke or cerebral sinovenous thrombosis was excluded. The Pediatric Stroke Outcome Measure (PSOM) assessed outcomes. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests evaluated change over time.Results: Twenty-six neonates were included (median age: 1 day, interquartile range [IQR] 0 to 16; median gestational age: 38.3 weeks, IQR 37.0 to 39.0). Hemorrhage was isolated intraventricular in seven (27%), isolated intraparenchymal in six (23%), and a combination in 10 (39%). Three neonates (12%) died during hospitalization; one died later due to cardiac disease. Among 22 survivors, outcomes were assessed at a median of 2.1 months (IQR 1.7 to 3.3) in 96% and 1.9 years (IQR 1.3 to 2.0) in 73%. Median PSOM scores were 0.0 (IQR 0.0 to 1.0) and 0.25 (IQR 0.0 to 1.3), respectively. At two years, 45% of patients had no or nonimpairing deficits (PSOM <1.0), 30% had mild deficits (PSOM 1.0 to 2.0), and 5% had moderate deficits (PSOM 2.5 to 4.5). Over time, 31% worsened and 6% improved. Although total PSOM scores did not change significantly (P = 0.08), language subscores worsened (P = 0.009). No child developed epilepsy.Conclusions: Perinatal hemorrhagic stroke survivors had favorable outcomes in early childhood; at two years moderate to severe deficits occurred in 5%. Language deficits may emerge over time, warranting close follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When the mother's own human milk is unavailable or limited, pasteurized human milk from milk banks is preferentially administered instead of infant formula, especially for vulnerable hospitalized neonates. Holder pasteurization (62.5 °C, 30 min) may alter human milk composition and structure, which may modulate its digestive behavior. An in vitro dynamic system was set up to simulate the gastrointestinal digestion of term newborns in order to compare the kinetics of lipolysis, proteolysis and structural disintegration of raw versus pasteurized human milk. Human milk from 5 donors was pooled. Half of the pool was either administrated raw (RHM) or pasteurized (PHM). Digestions were conducted at least in duplicate for RHM and PHM. Heat-induced protein aggregation was observed in PHM. During gastric digestion, β-casein was proteolyzed significantly faster for PHM than for RHM (p < 0.05), whereas lactoferrin tended to be proteolyzed slower (p = 0.07) for PHM. Pasteurization selectively affected the intestinal release of some amino acids. At any time of the gastrointestinal digestion, the lipolysis of PHM was significantly lower than that of RHM, but no impact was observed on the profile of released fatty acids. RHM presented a structural destabilization after 60 min of gastric digestion, while there was no large variation for PHM. In the intestinal phase, the evolution of the particle sizes was rather similar. Overall, Holder pasteurization impacted the proteolysis, lipolysis and disintegration of human milk. However, this impact was limited and the physiologic and metabolic consequences remain to be investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: There is still no study evaluating the influence of gestational age (GA) per se on C reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT) reference intervals. We therefore investigated how length of gestation, age (hours), and prenatal and perinatal variables might influence the levels of CRP and PCT. We also determined 95% age-specific reference intervals for CRP and PCT in healthy preterm and term babies during the early neonatal period. Methods: One blood sample (one observation per neonate) was taken for CRP and PCT from each newborn between birth and the first 4 (for term), or 5days (for preterm newborns) of life by using a high-sensitive CRP and PCT assays. Results: Independently of gender and sampling time, GA had a significantly positive effect on CRP, and a significantly negative effect on PCT. Compared with healthy term babies, healthy preterm babies had a lower and shorter CRP response, and, conversely, an earlier, higher, and longer PCT response. CRP reference intervals were affected by a number of pro-inflammatory risk factors. Conclusions: Age- and GA-specific reference ranges for both CRP and PCT should be taken into account to optimize their use in the diagnosis of early-onset neonatal sepsis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Icterus is the most common medical problem in neonates and photo-therapy is the standard treatment for neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. This study aimed to compare the efficacy and length of hospital stay of double and triple phototherapy in newborns with indirect hyperbilirubinemia. Methods: In a clinical trial, 40 healthy term newborns (gestational age > 37 weeks) with bilirubin 3 12 and 3 15 mg/dL in the second and third day, respectively, were randomly assigned to triple (n = 20) or double phototherapy (n = 20) groups. Total and direct serum bilirubin were measured at admission, 8, 16, and 24 hours after beginning of phototherapy, and every 12 hours thereafter until discharge (when bilirubin levels reached £ 10 mg/dL). Results: There were 21 male (52%) and 19 female (48%) term neonates, with significant difference between patients'' age, weight, and age of icterus. There was no significant difference in the rate of bilirubin decline between the two groups within the first 8, 16 and 24 hours. There was no significant difference in mean length of hospital stay between the two groups. Analysis of complications showed no difference between triple and double groups. Conclusion: Triple phototherapy failed to reduce total serum bilirubin and shorten length of hospitalization more rapidly than double phototherapy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

ABSTRACT: This is a synopsis of the term newborn and infant portion of the 2007 document (Brierley et al., Crit Care Med 2009;37(2):666–88) which examined and graded new studies performed to test the utility and efficacy of the 2002 recommendations. This 2007 document examined and graded relevant new treatment and outcome studies to determine to what degree, if any, the 2002 guidelines should be modified. More than 30 clinical investigators and clinicians affiliated with the Society of Critical Care Medicine who had special interest in hemodynamic support of pediatric patients with sepsis volunteered to be members of the “update” task force. Subcommittees were formed to review and grade the literature using the evidence-based scoring system of the American College of Critical Care Medicine. The literature was accrued in part by searching PUBMED/MEDLINE using the following keywords: sepsis, septicemia, septic shock, endotoxemia, persistent pulmonary hypertension, nitric oxide, and ECMO. The search was narrowed to identify studies specifically relevant to term newborns, infants, and children. “Best Practice Outcomes” were identified and described clinical practice in these centers was used as a model. The new taskforce is presently working on updating new guidelines evaluating the literature of the past 6 years. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]