Search

Background & Objective: Iron deficiency before birth or in infancy can cause long-term behavioral and neurological disorders. Measuring serum ferritin is an effective way to diagnose iron deficiency but requires significant blood volume from a low birth weight infant. Therefore, the present study was performed to investigate the relationship between serum and urinary ferritin levels in low birth weight infants. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 76 infants weighing less than 2500 g were studied. To measure serum ferritin level, 1.5 mL of blood and to measure urinary ferritin level, at least 1 mL of urine was collected from each infant. Then the results were compared. Data analysis was performed using SPSS software version 16, and the significance level was considered less than 0.05. Results: Out of 76 neonates studied, 51.3% were boys, and 80.3% were premature infants. The mean birth weight of infants was 2056.31±318.74 g, and the mean serum and urinary ferritin levels were 134.77±72.35 and 85.55±70.97 ng, respectively. There was a statistically significant relationship between serum and urinary ferritin levels. Also, serum ferritin and urinary ferritin levels had a statistically significant relationship with birth weight and gestational age. The higher the birth weight as well as the age at birth, the higher the serum ferritin and urinary ferritin. Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, measurement of urinary ferritin level can be used as a noninvasive tool for iron deficiency screening in low birth weight infants instead of serum ferritin level . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) is a common cause of hospitalization and death in preterm infants who require surfactant treatment and respiratory support. Purpose: This study aimed to compare the clinical outcomes of minimally invasive surfactant therapy (MIST) and the INtubation, SURfactant administration, and Extubation (INSURE) technique in preterm infants with RDS. Methods: In this clinical trial, 112 preterm infants born at 28-36 weeks of gestation and diagnosed with RDS randomly received 200-mg/kg surfactant by MIST or the INSURE method. In the MIST group, surfactant was administered using a thin catheter (5F feeding tube); in the INSURE group, surfactant was administered after intubation using a feeding tube and the tracheal tube was removed after positive pressure ventilation was started. Nasal continuous positive airway pressure was applied in both groups for respiratory support and the postprocedure clinical outcomes were compared. Results: The mean hospitalization time was shorter for infants in the MIST group than for those in the INSURE group (9.19± 1.72 days vs. 10.21±2.15 days, P=0.006). Patent ductus arteriosus was less frequent in the MIST group (14.3% vs. 30.4%, P=0.041). Desaturation during surfactant administration occurred less commonly in the MIST group (19.6% vs. 39.3%, P=0.023). There were no significant intergroup differences in other early or late complications. Conclusion: These results suggest that surfactant administration using MIST could be a good replacement for INSURE in preterm infants with RDS since its use reduced the hospitalization time and the number of side effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]