Monthly Archives: November 2014

Listening to the voices of Preemies

Posted on 29 November 2014 by Keith Barrington

Or rather the voices of adults who were born very preterm. Saroj Saigal is well known to many of us in neonatology, either by reputation, or, for the lucky ones among us, as a friend. Her insights into quality of … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research | 3 Comments

Does vitamin E make preterm babies smarter?

Posted on 25 November 2014 by Keith Barrington

In this study about the potential effects of α-tocopherol on IQ in ELBW infants, there are a number of problems: Starting with the title, Long-term alpha–Tocopherol supplements may improve mental development in extremely low birth weight infants. Acta Paediatrica. 2014. (It is … Continue reading →

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Let’s scrub those hubs!

Posted on 25 November 2014 by Keith Barrington

‘Scrub the hub’ is a part of many catheter sepsis prevention bundles. The idea being that organisms can be introduced into the infusion solution from inadequate cleaning of connectors, so 15 seconds minimum of vigorous application of alcohol wipes should … Continue reading →

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Umbilical cord flow after birth, before clamping

Posted on 24 November 2014 by Keith Barrington

Well obviously before clamping, after clamping there isn’t much flow! In this study with full term babies they were delivered and placed on the mother’s chest, and then an ultrasound probe was placed to measure umbilical cord flow.  (Boere I, … Continue reading →

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A CPS statement thought experiment

Posted on 19 November 2014 by Keith Barrington

Its been a while since I ranted about the CPS position statement regarding decision making around extremely preterm delivery. But I am currently in Europe where certain countries have specific thresholds for willingness to provide intensive interventions, thresholds which are … Continue reading →

Posted in The CPS antenatal counselling statement | 1 Comment

Brain Food for Preterms

Posted on 18 November 2014 by Keith Barrington

All food is brain food when your brain is making 250,000 new neurones every minute. In a small two-center trial first published in 2013 50 very preterm babies were randomized to different parenteral nutritional intakes. The main differences between the groups … Continue reading →

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It’s not enough to be good

Posted on 16 November 2014 by Keith Barrington

You have to keep practicing as well. The way our health systems are organized has impacts on outcomes. Multiple small centers doing complex surgery and looking after fragile patients only infrequently will likely have poorer outcomes overall. Large centers which … Continue reading →

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Neonatal Updates

Posted on 14 November 2014 by Keith Barrington

I haven’t done one of these for a while, getting too verbose I  guess, but here is a selection of interesting recent articles with just a few sentences about them. Mola-Schenzle E, Staffler A, Klemme M, Pellegrini F, Molinaro G, … Continue reading →

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Comparing Currently Used Treatments

Posted on 14 November 2014 by Keith Barrington

The idea that we should actively and scientifically compare treatments that are in widespread use, but currently with haphazard variations based on poor or no evidence, is a vital part of improving medicine. In my own field, the care of … Continue reading →

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Feeding and NEC

Posted on 14 November 2014 by Keith Barrington

Necrotizing Enterocolitis remains a devastating disease. One of the major causes of mortality in Very Low Birth Weight Infants, it often strikes when babies are starting to do well. Because it is relatively unpredictable, observational studies are potentially useful, but can … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research | Tagged , | 4 Comments