Monthly Archives: December 2020

Should all asphyxiated babies have MR spectroscopy?

Posted on 21 December 2020 by Keith Barrington

MRI post-asphyxia, and post-rewarming, seems to be more predictive of long term outcomes than MRI at term for preterm infants. Imaging and analysis of the Apparent Diffusion Coefficient in the PLIC (posterior Limb of the Internal Capsule), for example, has … Continue reading →

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Diuretics as Anticonvulsants?

Posted on 16 December 2020 by Keith Barrington

In recent years there has been a lot of interest in neonatal seizures and how to treat them. Older studies confirmed that phenobarbitone (or phenobarbital, I never know these days) appears effective, but with limits; many babies have a partial … Continue reading →

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Do Sub-Ependymal Haemorrhages cause cerebral palsy?

Posted on 15 December 2020 by Keith Barrington

The germinal matrix is a region in the immature brain where a large proportion of cortical neurones are formed before they migrate out to form the neo-cortex. It is intensely metabolically active as it is producing hundreds of thousands of … Continue reading →

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Does intravitreal bevacizumab adversely affect long term development? Two simultaneous systematic reviews say yes, or no.

Posted on 14 December 2020 by Keith Barrington

A reliable answer to the above question would require a large multicentre RCT comparing intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) to laser, powered for long term outcomes. Such a trial does not currently exist. As a result, 2 groups have just published systematic … Continue reading →

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Three trials with null results, how should we respond?

Posted on 10 December 2020 by Keith Barrington

These 3 articles have just been published, all show no difference in long term outcomes between the randomized groups. What does that mean for the impact on therapeutic decision-making? Natalucci G, et al. Neurodevelopmental Outcomes at Age 5 Years After … Continue reading →

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What role for High Flow Nasal Cannulae?

Posted on 4 December 2020 by Keith Barrington

There are a few new publications which might help us to answer the question posed in the title of this post. When heated, humidified, high flow nasal cannulae were first being spoken about I remembered an old study using standard … Continue reading →

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