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Perinatal asphyxia is a common emergency for both obstetricians and pediatricians. A prospective study was conducted in 14 maternity hospitals (type II centres) in the Paris suburbs in order to assess pediatric activity and neonatal morbidity associated with supposed perinatal asphyxia in term newborns. Pediatricians were called in at birth very frequently: 1/20 deliveries. Intubation and/or resuscitation procedures were needed in 20% of cases and 20% of infants were referred to a neonatal unit for birth asphyxia or associated pathology. Moderate encephalopathy was observed in 1.5% of all term newborns who needed medical intervention for supposed birth asphyxia.

Purpose: We report here the clinical response to low-dose arabinosyl cytosine (Ara-C) in seven children with Down syndrome (DS) and acute leukemia in which blast cells express markers of erythroid and/or megakaryoblastic lineages. Following an initial course of treatment with Ara-C, complete remission was obtained in all seven patients. Maintenance therapy with Ara-C was continued during complete remission. Four patients subsequently relapsed; the three others are disease-free. Based on these data, we suggest that when conventional therapy is contraindicated by associated malformations, low-dose Ara-C can be used for treating DS patients with erythroblastic or megakaryoblastic leukemia. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of low-dose Ara-C in treating megakaryoblastic and/or erythroblastic leukemia associated with DS., Patients and Methods: Seven patients with DS presented with leukemia in which blast cells displayed early markers of the erythroblastic and/or megakaryoblastic lineage. Low-dose subcutaneous Ara-C (10 mg/m2 two times per day) was given for 21 days as induction therapy, followed by a 5-10-day course each month for 2 years as a maintenance treatment., Results: Low-dose Ara-C treatment resulted in complete remission in all seven patients and in long-term disease-free survival in three patients., Conclusion: In cases in which conventional chemotherapy is contraindicated, low-dose Ara-C should be considered as a therapeutic alternative for treatment of DS-associated erythroblastic or megakaryocytic leukemia.

A 22-month-old boy was found to be trisomic for distal 14q due to malsegregation of a t(10;14)(q26.3;q32.1)pat. This observation and seven others reported in the literature permit the delineation of the corresponding clinical syndrome, which includes the following : intra-uterine and postnatal growth retardation; craniofacial dysmorphism : a large facies, chubby cheeks, facial asymmetry, hypertelorism, a broad nose, a short prominent philtrum, a carp-shaped mouth, micrognathia, low-set ears with a prominent antitragus; nipples set high and far apart; short upper limbs; hypogenitalism in the male; internal organ malformations : brain, lung, and heart defects, the last often responsible for an early death. This syndrome resembles that of complete trisomy 14q. The border of the index case was mentally deficient; he carried the paternal translocation as well as an extra unidentifiable fragment translocated onto the short arm of the rearranged chromosome 10.

A new-born baby was found to have a duodenal ulcer after developing a severe hematemesis 24 hours after birth. The diagnosis was established by fibroscopic examination, which was also used to follow progress in this case, in which operation for a secondary hypertrophic stenosis of the pylorus led to a favourable outcome. The role of "stress" and, more particularly, gastric hyperacidity in the neonatal period are discussed. Once the critical period is passed, during which hemorrhage and perforation are the cause of the high mortality, recovery is complete.

The authors present three cases of fetal hypothyroidism following amniofetography, after they have reviewed the technique and complications of this procedure. (For outlining the fetus by injecting radio-opaque iodides into the amniotic sac). These are cases of hypothyroidism in the fetus caused by overdosage with iodides. The fetal thyroid is blocked by the large quantity of iodine which is necessary for amniofetography. The indications then for amniofetography should be reviewed. The only valid indication that remains is for the diagnosis of neurological malformations and especially spina bifida. Whenever amniofetography has been carried out the newborn should be assessed for thyroid function routinely.