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Congenital heart defects(CHDs) are an important cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity. With advances in diagnosis and treatment, many defects are now amenable to correction. There is a need for individualized approach to prenatally detected lesions to predict the likely prognosis. Assigning them into risk category helps in prenatal counseling, decision making, referrals and formulation of management plan to improve the outcome. To grade the fetal CHDs according to severity and study its usefulness in decision making. A prospective study at a tertiary care institute between 2016 and 18, including pregnant women with antenatal diagnosis of fetal CHD. Detailed fetal echocardiography was followed by classification of lesions into four risk categories using modified grading system: (A) extremely high risk; (B) high risk (C) moderate risk (D) low risk. Appropriate counseling was provided to facilitate decision making and further management. The grading was reviewed and revised again postpartum/post-mortem for correlation. Of the total 137 cases, almost half (45.53%) were Category B, while Category D, C and A had 24.1%, 20.4% and 10.2% of cases respectively. The mean gestation age at diagnosis was 26.5 weeks. Termination of pregnancy was done in 21 cases, mostly in Category B (71.4%) and of the 116 continued pregnancies, there were 16 intrauterine deaths. Prenatal and postnatal findings were available in 109 cases and kappa analysis for agreement between antenatal and postnatal grading showed good agreement (0.82). Prenatal grading of congenital heart disease is a reliable, structured and simplified tool that can be used for providing counseling and facilitate decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Currently nonselective cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitors, ibuprofen and indomethacin, are approved drugs for closure of patent ductus arteriosus but have potential toxicities. There are reports of the effectiveness of paracetamol in ductal closure. However, there is paucity of data comparing paracetamol to ibuprofen or indomethacin in relation to the efficacy and safety profile.Methods: This randomized clinical trial was done in our tertiary care neonatal unit from October 2014 to January 2016 after clearance from ethical committee. It was registered with clinical trial registry of India (CTRI/2016/09/007261) and drug controller general of India (CT/Drugs/56/2014). Preterm neonates with clinical suspicion of hemodynamically significant PDA after echo confirmation were included in the study. Randomization was done by stratified randomization through sealed opaque envelopes. A sample size of 150 was estimated with an expected difference in success of closure as 20% between the treatment groups at level of 5% significance and 80% power. The echocardiography was done 24 hours after completion of treatment by a cardiologist blinded to treatment.Results: The baseline parameters were comparable between two groups. One hundred and forty-six babies had hs-PDA, out of which 110 babies were randomized. No significant difference was found between the two groups with respect to PDA closure (RR 0.97, 95%CI 0.78-1.20, p = 1), mortality or cardio-respiratory morbidity. The babies who received ibuprofen had a higher occurrence of acute kidney injury (RR 0.33, 95%CI 0.13-0.85, p = 0.024).Conclusions: Paracetamol is as effective as ibuprofen for PDA closure in preterm neonates. Ibuprofen used for PDA closure in preterms poses an increased risk for acute kidney injury compared to paracetamol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To estimate the incidence of fetal inflammatory response syndrome (FIRS) in preterm neonates and correlate it with immediate and one-year neurodevelopmental outcome.Materials and Methods: This prospective observational analytical study, in preterm neonates with gestational age between 26 and 34 weeks was conducted from May 2014 to December 2015 in a tertiary care hospital in South India. FIRS was defined as the presence of either elevated levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in cord blood ≥11 pg/ml and/or the placental histopathology showing evidence of fetal inflammatory response. One hundred and twenty neonates were recruited. During delivery 2 ml cord blood for interleukin-6 and placenta were collected and stored appropriately. Based on presence/absence of FIRS (IL-6 in cord blood ≥11 pg/ml and or features of placental fetal inflammation), neonates were grouped into two groups. The neonatal and maternal characteristics between two groups were compared. The short-term outcome parameters during NICU stay and neurodevelopmental outcome at one year of corrected age was compared between groups.Results: Among the 120 infants studied, 19 expired. Out of 101 babies discharged, 87 were followed up till corrected 1 year of age. On examination of placenta and cord blood, 50 neonates had evidence of FIRS (41.6%). So there were 50 neonates in FIRS and 70 in NO-FIRS group. The mean gestational age, birth weight, and gender distribution were comparable between the two groups. Mortality [OR: 2.44 (CI: 1.14-5.26)] and early hypotension [OR: 2.13 (CI: 1.1-4.2)] were significantly higher in the FIRS group. The neurodevelopmental assessment at corrected age of 1 year showed that infants with FIRS had lower mean motor developmental quotient by developmental assessment scale for Indian infants (DASII) [87.6 ± 9.15 versus 93.07 ± 9.3, p < .04].Conclusions: FIRS has a significant role on survival and neurodevelopmental outcome of preterm infants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]