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Infections remain a leading cause of neonatal death, especially among the extremely preterm infants. To evaluate the incidence, pathogenesis, and in-hospital outcomes associated with sepsis among hospitalized extremely preterm infants born at 24–0/7 to 27–6/7 weeks of gestation, we designed a post hoc analysis of data collected prospectively during the Preterm Epo Neuroprotection (PENUT) Trial, NCT #01378273. We analyzed culture positive infection data, as well as type and duration of antibiotic course and described their association with in-hospital morbidities and mortality. Of 936 included infants, 229 (24%) had at least one positive blood culture during their hospitalization. Early onset sepsis (EOS, ≤3 days after birth) occurred in 6% of the infants, with Coagulase negative Staphylococci (CoNS) and Escherichia Coli the most frequent pathogens. Late onset sepsis (LOS, >day 3) occurred in 20% of the infants. Nearly all infants were treated with antibiotics for presumed sepsis at least once during their hospitalization. The risk of confirmed or presumed EOS was lower with increasing birthweight. Confirmed EOS had no significant association with in-hospital outcomes or death while LOS was associated with increased risk of necrotizing enterocolitis and death. Extremely premature infants with presumed sepsis as compared to culture positive sepsis had lower rates of morbidities. In conclusion, the use of antibiotics for presumed sepsis remains much higher than confirmed infection rates. Ongoing work exploring antibiotic stewardship and presumed, culture-negative sepsis in extremely preterm infants is needed.

The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between iron exposure and the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD).A secondary analysis of the PENUT Trial dataset was conducted. The primary outcome was BPD at 36 weeks gestational age and primary exposures of interest were cumulative iron exposures in the first 28 days and through 36 weeks' gestation. Descriptive statistics were calculated for study cohort characteristics with analysis adjusted for the factors used to stratify randomization.Of the 941 patients, 821 (87.2%) survived to BPD evaluation at 36 weeks, with 332 (40.4%) diagnosed with BPD. The median cohort gestational age was 26 weeks and birth weight 810 g. In the first 28 days, 76% of infants received enteral iron and 55% parenteral iron. The median supplemental cumulative enteral and parenteral iron intakes at 28 days were 58.5 and 3.1 mg/kg, respectively, and through 36 weeks' 235.8 and 3.56 mg/kg, respectively. We found lower volume of red blood cell transfusions in the first 28 days after birth and higher enteral iron exposure in the first 28 days after birth to be associated with lower rates of BPD.We find no support for an increased risk of BPD with iron supplementation.NCT01378273. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01378273 IMPACT: Prior studies and biologic plausibility raise the possibility that iron administration could contribute to the pathophysiology of oxidant-induced lung injury and thus bronchopulmonary dysplasia in preterm infants. For 24-27-week premature infants, this study finds no association between total cumulative enteral iron supplementation at either 28-day or 36-week postmenstrual age and the risk for developing bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

Background In newborns with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), the correlation between neonatal neuroimaging and the degree of neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI) is unclear. Methods Infants with HIE enrolled in a randomized controlled trial underwent neonatal MRI/MR spectroscopy (MRS) using a harmonized protocol at 4–6 days of age. The severity of brain injury was measured with a validated scoring system. Using proportional odds regression, we calculated adjusted odds ratios (aOR) for the associations between MRI/MRS measures of injury and primary ordinal outcome (i.e., normal, mild NDI, moderate NDI, severe NDI, or death) at age 2 years. Results Of 451 infants with MRI/MRS at a median age of 5 days (IQR 4.5–5.8), outcomes were normal (51%); mild (12%), moderate (14%), severe NDI (13%); or death (9%). MRI injury score (aOR 1.06, 95% CI 1.05, 1.07), severe brain injury (aOR 39.6, 95% CI 16.4, 95.6), and MRS lactate/n-acetylaspartate (NAA) ratio (aOR 1.6, 95% CI 1.4,1.8) were associated with worse primary outcomes. Infants with mild/moderate MRI brain injury had similar BSID-III cognitive, language, and motor scores as infants with no injury. Conclusion In the absence of severe injury, brain MRI/MRS does not accurately discriminate the degree of NDI. Given diagnostic uncertainty, families need to be counseled regarding a range of possible neurodevelopmental outcomes. Impact Half of all infants with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) enrolled in a large clinical trial either died or had neurodevelopmental impairment at age 2 years despite receiving therapeutic hypothermia. Severe brain injury and a global pattern of brain injury on MRI were both strongly associated with death or neurodevelopmental impairment. Infants with mild or moderate brain injury had similar mean BSID-III cognitive, language, and motor scores as infants with no brain injury on MRI. Given the prognostic uncertainty of brain MRI among infants with less severe degrees of brain injury, families should be counseled regarding a range of possible neurodevelopmental outcomes.

To examine the frequency of placental abnormalities in a multicenter cohort of newborn infants with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and to determine the association between acuity of placental abnormalities and clinical characteristics of HIE.Infants born at ≥36 weeks of gestation (n = 500) with moderate or severe HIE were enrolled in the High-dose Erythropoietin for Asphyxia and Encephalopathy Trial. A placental pathologist blinded to clinical information reviewed clinical pathology reports to determine the presence of acute and chronic placental abnormalities using a standard classification system.Complete placental pathologic examination was available for 321 of 500 (64%) trial participants. Placental abnormalities were identified in 273 of 321 (85%) and were more common in infants ≥40 weeks of gestation (93% vs 81%, P = .01). A combination of acute and chronic placental abnormalities (43%) was more common than either acute (20%) or chronic (21%) abnormalities alone. Acute abnormalities included meconium staining of the placenta (41%) and histologic chorioamnionitis (39%). Chronic abnormalities included maternal vascular malperfusion (25%), villitis of unknown etiology (8%), and fetal vascular malperfusion (6%). Infants with chronic placental abnormalities exhibited a greater mean base deficit at birth (-15.9 vs -14.3, P = .049) than those without such abnormalities. Patients with HIE and acute placental lesions had older mean gestational ages (39.1 vs 38.0, P .001) and greater rates of clinically diagnosed chorioamnionitis (25% vs 2%, P .001) than those without acute abnormalities.Combined acute and chronic placental abnormalities were common in this cohort of infants with HIE, underscoring the complex causal pathways of HIE.ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02811263.

Infants born extremely preterm (28 weeks' gestation) are at high risk of neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI) with 50% of survivors showing moderate or severe NDI when at 2 years of age. We sought to develop novel models by which to predict neurodevelopmental outcomes, hypothesizing that combining baseline characteristics at birth with medical care and environmental exposures would produce the most accurate model.Using a prospective database of 692 infants from the Preterm Epo Neuroprotection (PENUT) Trial, which was carried out between December 2013 and September 2016, we developed three predictive algorithms of increasing complexity using a Bayesian Additive Regression Trees (BART) machine learning approach to predict both NDI and continuous Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development 3rd ed subscales at 2 year follow-up using: 1) the 5 variables used in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Extremely Preterm Birth Outcomes Tool, 2) 21 variables associated with outcomes in extremely preterm (EP) infants, and 3) a hypothesis-free approach using 133 potential variables available for infants in the PENUT database.The NICHD 5-variable model predicted 3-4% of the variance in the Bayley subscale scores, and predicted NDI with an area under the receiver operator curve (AUROC, 95% CI) of 0.62 (0.56-0.69). Accuracy increased to 12-20% of variance explained and an AUROC of 0.77 (0.72-0.83) when using the 21 pre-selected clinical variables. Hypothesis-free variable selection using BART resulted in models that explained 20-31% of Bayley subscale scores and AUROC of 0.87 (0.83-0.91) for severe NDI, with good calibration across the range of outcome predictions. However, even with the most accurate models, the average prediction error for the Bayley subscale predictions was around 14-15 points, leading to wide prediction intervals. Higher total transfusion volume was the most important predictor of severe NDI and lower Bayley scores across all subscales.While the machine learning BART approach meaningfully improved predictive accuracy above a widely used prediction tool (NICHD) as well as a model utilizing NDI-associated clinical characteristics, the average error remained approximately 1 standard deviation on either side of the true value. Although dichotomous NDI prediction using BART was more accurate than has been previously reported, and certain clinical variables such as transfusion exposure were meaningfully predictive of outcomes, our results emphasize the fact that the field is still not able to accurately predict the results of complex long-term assessments such as Bayley subscales in infants born EP even when using rich datasets and advanced analytic methods. This highlights the ongoing need for long-term follow-up of all EP infants.Supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and StrokeU01NS077953 and U01NS077955.

To determine whether an intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) prevention bundle featuring midline-elevated positioning reduced IVH among high-risk infants.In a retrospective study design, we compared outcomes of infants1250 grams birth weight or30 weeks gestation before (N = 205) and after (N = 360) implementation of an IVH prevention bundle, using Bayesian and frequentist logistic regression to determine whether the intervention decreased any grade IVH.In both the Bayesian and frequentist analyses, there was no difference in odds of any grade IVH before and after the implementation of the prevention bundle (OR 0.993; 95% Credible Interval 0.751-1.323 and OR 1.23; 95% Confidence Interval 0.818-1.864 respectively). Bias analyses suggested that these results were robust to bias from potential deaths attributable to IVH.In this retrospective analysis, we found no evidence for a protective effect of an IVH prevention bundle on IVH incidence among high-risk neonates at a level IV NICU.

Neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy is an important cause of death as well as long-term disability in survivors. Erythropoietin has been hypothesized to have neuroprotective effects in infants with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, but its effects on neurodevelopmental outcomes when given in conjunction with therapeutic hypothermia are unknown.In a multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, we assigned 501 infants born at 36 weeks or more of gestation with moderate or severe hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy to receive erythropoietin or placebo, in conjunction with standard therapeutic hypothermia. Erythropoietin (1000 U per kilogram of body weight) or saline placebo was administered intravenously within 26 hours after birth, as well as at 2, 3, 4, and 7 days of age. The primary outcome was death or neurodevelopmental impairment at 22 to 36 months of age. Neurodevelopmental impairment was defined as cerebral palsy, a Gross Motor Function Classification System level of at least 1 (on a scale of 0 [normal] to 5 [most impaired]), or a cognitive score of less than 90 (which corresponds to 0.67 SD below the mean, with higher scores indicating better performance) on the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, third edition.Of 500 infants in the modified intention-to-treat analysis, 257 received erythropoietin and 243 received placebo. The incidence of death or neurodevelopmental impairment was 52.5% in the erythropoietin group and 49.5% in the placebo group (relative risk, 1.03; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.86 to 1.24; P = 0.74). The mean number of serious adverse events per child was higher in the erythropoietin group than in the placebo group (0.86 vs. 0.67; relative risk, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.57).The administration of erythropoietin to newborns undergoing therapeutic hypothermia for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy did not result in a lower risk of death or neurodevelopmental impairment than placebo and was associated with a higher rate of serious adverse events. (Funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02811263.).

Few reliable or easily obtainable biomarkers to predict long-term outcome in infants with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) have been identified. We previously showed that mattress temperature (MT), as proxy for disturbed temperature regulation during therapeutic hypothermia (TH), predicts injury on early MRI and holds promise as physiologic biomarker. To determine whether MT in neonates treated with TH for moderate-severe HIE is associated with long-term outcome at 18–22 months, we performed a secondary analysis of the Optimizing Cooling trial using MT data from 167 infants treated at a core temperature of 33.5°C. Median MTs from four time-epochs (0–6 h, 6–24 h, 24–48 h, and 48–72 h of TH) were used to predict death or moderate-severe neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI), using epoch-specific derived and validated MT cutoffs. Median MT of infants who died or survived with NDI was consistently 1.5–3.0°C higher throughout TH. Infants requiring a median MT above the derived cut-offs had a significantly increased odds of death or NDI, most notably at 0–6 h (aOR 17.0, 95%CI 4.3–67.4). By contrast, infants who remained below cut-offs across all epochs had 100% NDI-free survival. MTs in neonates with moderate-severe HIE during TH are highly predictive of long-term outcome and can be used as physiologic biomarker.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is common and is associated with poor clinical outcomes in premature neonates. Urine biomarkers hold the promise to improve our understanding and care of patients with kidney disease. Because kidney maturation and gender can impact urine biomarker values in extremely low gestational age neonates (ELGANs), careful control of gestational age (GA) and time is critical to any urine biomarker studies in neonates.To improve our understanding of the potential use of urine biomarkers to detect AKI during the first postnatal weeks, we performed a nested case-control study to evaluate 21 candidate urine AKI biomarkers. Cases include 20 ELGANs with severe AKI. Each case was matched with 2 controls for the same GA week (rounded down to the nearest week), gender, and birth weight (BW) (± 50 g).Urine cystatin C, creatinine, ghrelin, fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF23), tissue metalloproteinase 2 (TIMP2) and vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFa) concentrations were higher in ELGANs with early severe AKI compared to matched control subjects without AKI. Urine epidermal growth factor (EGF) and uromodulin (UMOD) concentrations are lower in cases than controls. Interleukin (IL)-15 was lower on day 1, but higher on day 8 in cases than controls; while VEGFa was lower on day 1, but higher on day 5 in cases than controls.Urine biomarkers hold the promise to improve our ability to reliably detect kidney injury. Interventional studies are needed to determine the biomarkers' ability to predict outcomes, enhance AKI phenotypes, and improve timely interventions which can prevent the sequalae of AKI in ELGANs. A higher resolution version of the Graphical abstract is available as Supplementary information.

BACKGROUND: To determine the prevalence and severity of acute kidney injury (AKI) at different time frames in relation to gestational age (GA) and birthweight (BW) in extremely low gestational age neonates (ELGAN). Our hypothesis is that ELGAN with lower GA and lower BW have higher AKI rates. METHODS: 923 ELGAN enrolled in the Preterm Erythropoietin Neuroprotection Trial were evaluated from birth until death or hospital discharge. AKI was defined according to kidney disease: improving global outcomes (KDIGO) definition from clinically-derived serum creatinine (SCr) measurements. Severe AKI was defined as stage 2 or higher. RESULTS: For the entire cohort, 351/923 (38.0%, CI = 34.8–41.3%) had at least one episode of stage 1 or higher AKI and 168/923 (18.2%, CI = 15.7–20.7%) had at least one episode of severe (stage 2 or higher) AKI. The prevalence of AKI stage 1 or higher for the entire cohort during the early (days 3–7), middle (days 8–14) and late follow-up period (after day 14) was 112/923 (12.1%, CI = 10.0–14.3%), 142/891 (15.9%, CI = 13.5–18.4%) and 249/875 (28.5%, CI = 25.4–31.5%), respectively. The rates of severe AKI during the hospital course were 27.8%, 21.9%, 13.6%, and 9.4% for the 24, 25, 26 and 27 week GA groups respectively. AKI rates were significantly higher with decreasing GA and decreasing BW for stated time trends (all p < 0.01 using tests for trend). CONCLUSIONS: AKI is relatively common in ELGAN during their initial hospital course, and is associated with lower GA and BW.

Objective Little data are available regarding erythropoietin (Epo) utilization patterns within neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). We sought to describe the trends in Epo utilization across a large cohort of U.S. NICUs.Study Design This is a retrospective cohort study of infants discharged from 2008 to 2017 using the Pediatrix Clinical Data Warehouse.Results We identified 704,159 eligible infants from 358 sites, of whom 9,749 (1.4%) had Epo exposure. For extremely low gestational age newborns (ELGANs), Epo exposure ranged from 7.6 to 13.5%. We found significant site variability in Epo utilization in ELGANs. Among the 299 NICUs caring for ELGANs during the study period, 184 (61.5%) never used Epo for this population, whereas 21 (7%) utilized Epo in 50% or more of eligible infants. Epo was initiated at a median of 25 days in ELGANs. For infants with hypoxic–ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), Epo exposure remained ≤1% through 2014 then increased fourfold to 3.4% by 2017. The median day of Epo initiation was the day of birth for infants diagnosed with HIE.Conclusion Epo is utilized in ELGANs more commonly than for other NICU populations. Utilization patterns appear to indicate the treatment of established anemia for ELGANs and more recently for neuroprotection in patients diagnosed with HIE.

Organotypic brain slice models are an ideal technological platform to investigate therapeutic options for hypoxic-ischemic (HI) brain injury, a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in neonates. The brain exhibits regional differences in the response to HI injury in vivo. This can be modeled using organotypic brain slices, which maintain three-dimensional regional structures and reflect the regional differences in injury response. Here, we developed an organotypic whole hemisphere (OWH) slice culture model of HI injury using the gyrencephalic ferret brain at a developmental stage equivalent to a full-term human infant in order to better probe region-specific cellular responses to injury. Each slice encompassed the cortex, corpus callosum, subcortical white matter, hippocampus, basal ganglia, and thalamus. Regional responses to treatment with either erythropoietin (Epo) or the ketone body acetoacetate (AcAc) were highly heterogenous. While both treatments suppressed global injury responses and oxidative stress, significant neuroprotection was only seen in a subset of regions, with others displaying no response or potential exacerbation of injury. Similar regional heterogeneity was seen in the morphology and response of microglia to injury and treatment, which mirrored those seen after injury in vivo. Within each region, machine-learning-based classification of microglia morphological shifts in response to injury predicted the neuroprotective response to each therapy, with different morphologies associated with different treatment responses. This suggests that the ferret OWH slice culture model provides a platform for examining regional responses to injury in the gyrencephalic brain, as well as for screening combinations of therapeutics to provide global neuroprotection after injury.

Extremely low gestational age neonates born28 weeks gestation are at risk for chronic disease. We sought to describe the prevalence of kidney outcomes by gestational age and determine risk factors for their development.The Recombinant Erythropoietin for Protection of Infant Renal Disease (REPAIReD) study examined kidney outcomes of extremely low gestational age neonates enrolled in the Preterm Epo NeuroProtection Trial (PENUT) study. Kidney function, urine albumin, and BP were measured at 2-year (24±2 months) corrected gestational age. We compared outcomes across gestational age categories and evaluated associations between kidney-related outcomes and neonatal and maternal characteristics. The primary outcome was eGFR90 ml/min per 1.73 mA total of 832 survived to 2 years, and 565 (68%) had at least one outcome measured. Overall, 297 (53%) had one abnormal kidney outcome; 61 (18%) had an eGFR90 ml/min per 1.73 mApproximately 18% of extremely low gestational age neonates have CKD, 36% have albuminuria, 22% have an elevated systolic BP, and 44% have an elevated diastolic BP at 2 years of age. Gestational age, birthweightThis article contains a podcast at https://www.asn-online.org/media/podcast/CJASN/2022_07_19_CJN15011121.mp3.

Evaluate maximal weight loss (MWL) and total fluid administration (TFA) association in first week after birth with outcomes among extremely preterm (EP) newborns.We performed a retrospective analysis of the Preterm Erythropoietin Neuroprotection Trial evaluating first-week MWL, TFA, and association with in-hospital outcomes.Among n = 883 included EP neonates, n = 842 survived ≥ 7 days and were included in outcome analyses. MWL between 5% to 15% was associated with decreased odds of necrotizing enterocolitis compared to MWL 15% (OR 0.49, 95% CI 0.25-0.98). Average TFA 150 mL/kg birthweight/day was associated with increased odds of necrotizing enterocolitis (OR 3.22, 95% CI 1.40-7.42) and patent ductus arteriosus requiring surgery (OR 2.14, 95% CI 1.10-4.15).MWL between 5% to 15% is a potentially optimal window of MWL. Increasing average TFA in the first week is associated with adverse neonatal outcomes. Prospective studies evaluating MWL and TFA and relationship to outcomes in EP neonates are needed.This study is a secondary analysis of pre-existing data from the PENUT Trial Registration: NCT01378273, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01378273 .

OBJECTIVES To evaluate whether extremely preterm infants regulate iron status via hepcidin. STUDY DESIGN In this retrospective analysis of infants from the Preterm Epo Neuroprotection (PENUT) Trial, urine hepcidin (Uhep) normalized to creatinine (Uhep/UCr) was evaluated among infants randomized to erythropoietin (Epo) or placebo. RESULTS The correlation (r) between Uhep/UCr and serum markers of iron status (ferritin and zinc protoporphyrin-to-heme ratio [ZnPP/H]) and iron dose was assessed. A total of 243 urine samples from 76 infants born at 24-276/7 weeks gestation were analyzed. The median Uhep/UCr concentration was 0.3, 1.3, 0.4, and 0.1 ng/mg at baseline, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, and 12 weeks, respectively, in placebo-treated infants. The median Uhep/UCr value in Epo-treated infants were not significantly different, with the exception of the value at the 2-week time point (median Uhep/UCr, 0.1 ng/mg; P

Iron is critical for brain development, playing key roles in synaptogenesis, myelination, energy metabolism and neurotransmitter production. NICU infants are at particular risk for iron deficiency due to high iron needs, preterm birth, disruptions in maternal or placental health and phlebotomy. If deficiency occurs during critical periods of brain development, this may lead to permanent alterations in brain structure and function which is not reversible despite later supplementation. Children with perinatal iron deficiency have been shown to have delayed nerve conduction speeds, disrupted sleep patterns, impaired recognition memory, motor deficits and lower global developmental scores which may be present as early as in the neonatal period and persist into adulthood. Based on this, ensuring brain iron sufficiency during the neonatal period is critical to optimizing neurodevelopmental outcomes and iron supplementation should be targeted to iron measures that correlate with improved outcomes.

Perinatal hypoxic-ischemic (HI) brain injury, often in conjunction with an inflammatory insult, is the most common cause of death or disability in neonates. Therapeutic hypothermia (TH) is the standard of care for HI encephalopathy in term and near-term infants. However, TH may not always be available or efficacious, creating a need for novel or adjunctive neurotherapeutics. Using a near-term model of inflammation-sensitized HI brain injury in postnatal day (P) 17 ferrets, animals were randomized to either the control group (n = 43) or the HI-exposed groups: saline vehicle (Veh, n = 42), Ur (uridine monophosphate, n = 23), Epo (erythropoietin, n = 26), or TH (n = 24) to test their respective therapeutic effects. Motor development was assessed from P21 to P42 followed by analysis of cortical anatomy, ex vivo MRI, and neuropathology. HI animals took longer to complete the motor assessments compared to controls, which was exacerbated in the Ur group. Injury resulted in thinned white matter tracts and narrowed cortical sulci and gyri, which was mitigated in Epo-treated animals in addition to normalization of cortical neuropathology scores to control levels. TH and Epo treatment also resulted in region-specific improvements in diffusion parameters on ex vivo MRI, however, TH was not robustly neuroprotective in any behavioral or neuropathological outcome measures. Overall, Ur and TH did not provide meaningful neuroprotection after inflammation-sensitized HI brain injury in the ferret, and Ur appeared to worsen outcomes. By comparison, Epo appears to provide significant, though not complete, neuroprotection in this model.

Objectives To compare the term equivalent brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings between erythropoietin (Epo) treated and placebo control groups in infants 240/7-276/7 weeks of gestational age and to assess the associations between MRI findings and neurodevelopmental outcomes at 2 years corrected age. Study design The association between brain abnormality scores and Bayley Scales of Infant Development, Third Edition at 2 years corrected age was explored in a subset of infants enrolled in the Preterm Erythropoietin Neuroprotection Trial. Potential risk factors for neurodevelopmental outcomes such as treatment assignment, recruitment site, gestational age, inpatient complications, and treatments were examined using generalized estimating equation models. Results One hundred ten infants were assigned to Epo and 110 to placebo groups. 27% of MRI scans were rated as normal, and 60%, 10%, and 2% were rated as having mild, moderate, or severe abnormality. Brain abnormality scores did not significantly differ between the treatment groups. Factors that increased the risk of higher brain injury scores included intubation; bronchopulmonary dysplasia; retinopathy of prematurity; opioid, benzodiazepine, or antibiotic treatment >7 days; and periventricular leukomalacia or severe intraventricular hemorrhage diagnosed on cranial ultrasound. Increased global brain abnormality and white matter injury scores at term equivalent were associated with reductions in cognitive, motor, and language abilities at 2 years of corrected age. Conclusions Evidence of brain injury on brain MRIs obtained at term equivalent correlated with adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes as assessed by the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition at 2 years corrected age. Early Epo treatment had no effect on the MRI brain injury scores compared with the placebo group.

To describe high/low daily blood pressures (BP) and variability in BP management with vasoactive infusions (VI) and/or hydrocortisone (HC) in extremely preterm infants.Analysis of data from 24-27 weeks' gestation infants in the Preterm Erythropoietin Neuroprotection (PENUT) Trial. Daily high/low BPs, the use of VI and/or HC, and adverse outcomes were compared descriptively and using regression models.936 infants were included; 64% untreated, 20% VI, 3% HC, and 13% VI + HC. BP ranges are described for the 602 untreated infants. Considerable inter- and intra-center variability was demonstrated in the rate of VI and/or HC use and the lowest BP on the day of VI or HC initiation.Despite published expert opinion guidance regarding BP management in extremely preterm infants, our results suggest a continued lack of consensus result in both inter- and intra-center variability in practice. Well-designed studies in the field are urgently needed.

To describe the parental experience of recruitment and assess differences between parents who participated and those who declined to enroll in a neonatal clinical trial.This was a survey conducted at 12 US neonatal intensive care units of parents of infants who enrolled in the High-dose Erythropoietin for Asphyxia and encephaLopathy (HEAL) trial or who were eligible but declined enrollment. Questions assessed 6 factors of the parental experience of recruitment: (1) interactions with research staff; (2) the consent experience; (3) perceptions of the study; (4) decisional conflict; (5) reasons for/against participation; and (6) timing of making the enrollment decision.In total, 269 of 387 eligible parents, including 183 of 242 (75.6%) of those who enrolled their children in HEAL and 86 of 145 (59.3%) parents who declined to enroll their children in HEAL, were included in analysis. Parents who declined to enroll more preferred to be approached by clinical team members rather than by research team members (72.9% vs 49.2%, P = .005). Enrolled parents more frequently reported positive initial impressions (54.9% vs 10.5%, P .001). Many parents in both groups made their decision early in the recruitment process. Considerations of reasons for/against participation differed by enrollment status.Understanding how parents experience recruitment, and how this differs by enrollment status, may help researchers improve recruitment processes for families and increase enrollment. The parental experience of recruitment varied by enrollment status. These findings can guide future work aiming to inform optimal recruitment strategies for neonatal clinical trials.

Challenges to obtaining consent for clinical research in acute settings are ubiquitous and yet highly specific to clinical context. Dickert and colleagues bring to light the challenges inherent in ...

The reticulocyte index reticulocyte hemoglobin equivalent (Ret-He) was evaluated as a marker of iron status. This is a retrospective cohort study of all infants admitted to the University of Washington Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, who received Ret-He measurements as part of routine care within the first 120 days of life. A total of 730 Ret-He measurements from 249 infants were analyzed (median gestational age at birth 32.1 weeks; 49 infants

Newborns with hypoxic–ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) may exhibit abnormalities on placental histology. In this phase II clinical trial ancillary study, we hypothesized that placental abnormalities correlate with MRI brain injury and with response to treatment. Fifty newborns with moderate/severe encephalopathy who received hypothermia were enrolled in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of erythropoietin for HIE. A study pathologist reviewed all available clinical pathology reports to determine the presence of chronic abnormalities and acute chorioamnionitis. Neonatal brain MRIs were scored using a validated HIE scoring system. Placental abnormalities in 19 of the 35 (54%) patients with available pathology reports included chronic changes (N = 13), acute chorioamnionitis (N = 9), or both (N = 3). MRI subcortical brain injury was less common in infants with a placental abnormality (26 vs. 69%, P = 0.02). Erythropoietin treatment was associated with a lower global brain injury score (median 2.0 vs. 11.5, P = 0.003) and lower rate of subcortical brain injury (33 vs. 90%, P = 0.01) among patients with no chronic placental abnormality but not in patients whose placentas harbored a chronic abnormality. Erythropoietin treatment was associated with less brain injury only in patients whose placentas exhibited no chronic histologic changes. Placentas may provide clues to treatment response in HIE.

Despite a high frequency of iron deficiency in pregnancy, the United States Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) stated: "there is inconclusive evidence routine supplementation for iron deficiency anemia improves maternal or infant clinical health outcomes." In contradistinction, high-quality epidemiologic studies report long lasting deficits in infants diagnosed with iron deficiency in the first 6 months of life compared with infants who were not, with specific deficits in cognition, memory, executive function and electrophysiology documented up to 19 years of age. Infants are not routinely screened for iron deficiency. United Kingdom guidelines differ and recommend screening high-risk infants who are preterm, of diabetic, underweight, obese, or vegetarian mothers, those born to anemic or iron deficient mothers, of smokers, those with inflammatory bowel disease or abnormal uterine bleeding, and from pregnancies in which the intergravid period is6 months. Iron parameters are not routinely drawn unless anemia is present and in some cases only if microcytic. In that iron deficiency precedes the development of anemia, and waiting for its development misses a large number of overtly iron deficient gravidas. Iron parameters were measured in 102 consecutive, nonselected, nonanemic, first trimester women presenting to their obstetricians. Using standard cutoffs of percent transferrin saturation and/or serum ferritin, 42% were observed to be iron deficient. Given the lack of harm of testing for iron deficiency, it appears prudent to err on the side of caution and screen all presenting pregnant mothers until properly powered outcome data become available. The current recommendations of the USPSTF may need to be revisited.

Data correlating dried blood spots (DBS) and plasma concentrations for neonatal biomarkers of brain injury are lacking. We hypothesized that candidate biomarker levels determined from DBS can serve as a reliable surrogate for plasma levels. In the context of a phase II multi-center trial evaluating erythropoietin for neuroprotection in neonatal encephalopathy (NE), DBS were collected at enrollment (

Iron deficiency, with or without anemia, is common in pregnant women. In fact, nearly 30% of reproductive-age women are anemic worldwide, and anemia in pregnancy has an estimated global prevalence of 38%. Severe anemia can substantially increase the risk of maternal mortality, and can adversely affect fetal development. In this review, we examine the available data regarding epidemiology and consequences of iron deficiency in mothers and infants, current treatment strategies, and make recommendations for screening and treatment of iron deficiency anemia in gravidas and neonates.

BACKGROUND Our understanding of the normative concentrations of urine biomarkers in premature neonates is limited. METHODS We evaluated urine from 750 extremely low gestational age (GA) neonates without severe acute kidney injury (AKI) to determine how GA affects ten different urine biomarkers at birth and over the first 30 postnatal days. Then, we investigated if the urine biomarkers changed over time at 27, 30, and 34 weeks postmenstrual age (PMA). Next, we evaluated the impact of sex on urine biomarker concentrations at birth and over time. Finally, we evaluated if urine biomarkers were impacted by treatment with erythropoietin (Epo). RESULTS We found that all ten biomarker concentrations differ at birth by GA and that some urine biomarker concentrations increase, while others decrease over time. At 27 weeks PMA, 7/10 urine biomarkers differed by GA. By 30 weeks PMA, 5/10 differed, and by 34 weeks PMA, only osteopontin differed by GA. About half of the biomarker concentrations differed by sex, and 4/10 showed different rates of change over time between males vs. females. We found no differences in urine biomarkers by treatment group. CONCLUSIONS The temporal patterns, GA, and sex differences need to be considered in urine AKI biomarker analyses. IMPACT Urine biomarker concentrations differ by GA at birth. Some urine biomarkers increase, while others decrease, over the first 30 postnatal days. Most urine biomarkers differ by GA at 27 weeks PMA, but are similar by 34 weeks PMA. Some urine biomarkers vary by sex in premature neonates. Urine biomarkers did not differ between neonates randomized to placebo vs. Epo.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: AKI is associated with poor short- and long-term outcomes. Questions remain about the frequency and timing of AKI, and whether AKI is a cause of death in extremely low gestational age neonates. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS: The Recombinant Erythropoietin for Protection of Infant Kidney Disease Study examines the kidney outcomes of extremely low gestational age neonates enrolled in the Preterm Epo Neuroprotection study, a randomized, placebo-controlled trial of recombinant human erythropoietin. We included 900 of 941 patients enrolled in Preterm Epo Neuroprotection. Baseline characteristics were compared by primary exposure (severe AKI versus none/stage 1 AKI) using unadjusted logistic regression models. Cox regression models estimated the relationship between severe AKI and death after adjustment for potential confounders. Time-dependent AKI was modeled as a binary outcome and a categorical variable by stage of AKI. We fit Cox models using time-dependent AKI status lagged by

As therapeutic hypothermia is only partially protective for neonatal encephalopathy, safe and effective adjunct therapies are urgently needed. Melatonin and erythropoietin show promise as safe and effective neuroprotective therapies. We hypothesized that melatonin and erythropoietin individually augment 12-h hypothermia (double therapies) and hypothermia + melatonin + erythropoietin (triple therapy) leads to optimal brain protection. Following carotid artery occlusion and hypoxia, 49 male piglets (, As therapeutic hypothermia is partially protective in neonatal encephalopathy, adjunct therapies are required. In a piglet model of perinatal asphyxia, Pang et al. report that melatonin and erythropoietin are safe and individually augment cooling through different mechanisms. Staggered rather than concomitant dosing may be optimal for brain protection., Graphical Abstract Graphical Abstract

Practice variability exists in the use of corticosteroids to treat or prevent bronchopulmonary dysplasia in extremely preterm infants, but there is limited information on longer-term impacts.To describe the use of corticosteroids in extremely preterm infants and evaluate the association with neurodevelopmental outcomes.This cohort study was a secondary analysis of data from the Preterm Erythropoietin Neuroprotection (PENUT) randomized clinical trial, conducted at 19 participating sites and 30 neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in the US. Inborn infants born between 24 0/7 and 27 6/7 weeks gestational age between December 2013 and September 2016 were included in analysis. Data analysis was conducted between February 2021 and January 2022.Cumulative dose of dexamethasone and duration of therapy for dexamethasone and prednisolone or methyl prednisolone were evaluated.Demographic and clinical characteristics were described in infants who did or did not receive corticosteroids of interest and survived to discharge. Neurodevelopmental outcomes at 2 years of age were evaluated using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-Third Edition (BSID-III) at corrected age 2 years.A total of 828 extremely preterm infants (403 [49%] girls; median [IQR] gestational age, 26 [25-27] weeks) born at 19 sites who survived to discharge were included in this analysis, and 312 infants (38%) were exposed to at least 1 corticosteroid of interest during their NICU stay, including 279 exposed to dexamethasone, 137 exposed to prednisolone or methylprednisolone, and 79 exposed to both. Exposed infants, compared with nonexposed infants, had a lower birth weight (mean [SD], 718 [168] g vs 868 [180] g) and were born earlier (mean [SD] gestational age, 25 [1] weeks vs 26 [1] weeks). The median (IQR) start day was 29 (20-44) days for dexamethasone and 53 (30-90) days for prednisolone or methylprednisolone. The median (IQR) total days of exposure was 10 (5-15) days for dexamethasone and 13 (6-25) days for prednisolone or methylprednisolone. The median (IQR) cumulative dose of dexamethasone was 1.3 (0.9-2.8) mg/kg. After adjusting for potential confounders, treatment with dexamethasone for longer than 14 days was associated with worse neurodevelopmental outcomes, with mean scores in BSID-III 7.4 (95% CI, -12.3 to -2.5) points lower in the motor domain (P = .003) and 5.8 (95% CI, -10.9 to -0.6) points lower in the language domain (P = .03), compared with unexposed infants.These findings suggest that long duration and higher cumulative dose of dexamethasone were associated with worse neurodevelopmental scores at corrected age 2 years. Potential unmeasured differences in the clinical conditions of exposed vs unexposed infants may contribute to these findings. Improved standardization of treatment and documentation of indications would facilitate replication studies.

Background: In the Preterm Erythropoietin (Epo) NeUroproTection (PENUT) Trial, potential biomarkers of neurological injury were measured to determine their association with outcomes at two years of age and whether Epo treatment decreased markers of inflammation in extremely preterm (

Extremely preterm infants are among the populations receiving the highest levels of transfusions. Erythropoietin has not been recommended for premature infants because most studies have not demonstrated a decrease in donor exposure.To determine whether high-dose erythropoietin given within 24 hours of birth through postmenstrual age of 32 completed weeks will decrease the need for blood transfusions.The Preterm Erythropoietin Neuroprotection Trial (PENUT) is a randomized, double-masked clinical trial with participants enrolled at 19 sites consisting of 30 neonatal intensive care units across the United States. Participants were born at a gestational age of 24 weeks (0-6 days) to 27 weeks (6-7 days). Exclusion criteria included conditions known to affect neurodevelopmental outcomes. Of 3266 patients screened, 2325 were excluded, and 941 were enrolled and randomized to erythropoietin (n = 477) or placebo (n = 464). Data were collected from December 12, 2013, to February 25, 2019, and analyzed from March 1 to June 15, 2019.In this post hoc analysis, erythropoietin, 1000 U/kg, or placebo was given every 48 hours for 6 doses, followed by 400 U/kg or sham injections 3 times a week through postmenstrual age of 32 weeks.Need for transfusion, transfusion numbers and volume, number of donor exposures, and lowest daily hematocrit level are presented herein.A total of 936 patients (488 male [52.1%]) were included in the analysis, with a mean (SD) gestational age of 25.6 (1.2) weeks and mean (SD) birth weight of 799 (189) g. Erythropoietin treatment (vs placebo) decreased the number of transfusions (unadjusted mean [SD], 3.5 [4.0] vs 5.2 [4.4]), with a relative rate (RR) of 0.66 (95% CI, 0.59-0.75); the cumulative transfused volume (mean [SD], 47.6 [60.4] vs 76.3 [68.2] mL), with a mean difference of -25.7 (95% CI, 18.1-33.3) mL; and donor exposure (mean [SD], 1.6 [1.7] vs 2.4 [2.0]), with an RR of 0.67 (95% CI, 0.58-0.77). Despite fewer transfusions, erythropoietin-treated infants tended to have higher hematocrit levels than placebo-treated infants, most noticeable at gestational week 33 in infants with a gestational age of 27 weeks (mean [SD] hematocrit level in erythropoietin-treated vs placebo-treated cohorts, 36.9% [5.5%] vs 30.4% [4.6%] (P .001). Of 936 infants, 160 (17.1%) remained transfusion free at the end of 12 postnatal weeks, including 43 in the placebo group and 117 in the erythropoietin group (P .001).These findings suggest that high-dose erythropoietin as used in the PENUT protocol was effective in reducing transfusion needs in this population of extremely preterm infants.ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01378273.

Background Outcomes of extremely low gestational age neonates (ELGANs) may be adversely impacted by packed red blood cell (pRBC) transfusions. We investigated the impact of transfusions on neurodevelopmental outcome in the Preterm Erythropoietin (Epo) Neuroprotection (PENUT) Trial population. Methods This is a post hoc analysis of 936 infants 24-0/6 to 27-6/7 weeks' gestation enrolled in the PENUT Trial. Epo 1000 U/kg or placebo was given every 48 h × 6 doses, followed by 400 U/kg or sham injections 3 times a week through 32 weeks postmenstrual age. Six hundred and twenty-eight (315 placebo, 313 Epo) survived and were assessed at 2 years of age. We evaluated associations between BSID-III scores and the number and volume of pRBC transfusions. Results Each transfusion was associated with a decrease in mean cognitive score of 0.96 (95% CI of [-1.34, -0.57]), a decrease in mean motor score of 1.51 (-1.91, -1.12), and a decrease in mean language score of 1.10 (-1.54, -0.66). Significant negative associations between BSID-III score and transfusion volume and donor exposure were observed in the placebo group but not in the Epo group. Conclusions Transfusions in ELGANs were associated with worse outcomes. We speculate that strategies to minimize the need for transfusions may improve outcomes. Impact Transfusion number, volume, and donor exposure in the neonatal period are associated with worse neurodevelopmental (ND) outcome at 2 years of age, as assessed by the Bayley Infant Scales of Development, Third Edition (BSID-III). The impact of neonatal packed red blood cell transfusions on the neurodevelopmental outcome of preterm infants is unknown. We speculate that strategies to minimize the need for transfusions may improve neurodevelopmental outcomes.