Monthly Archives: April 2022

Automated oxygen control, what’s taking so long?

Posted on 29 April 2022 by Keith Barrington

A long long time ago, in a galaxy… actually quite near here, the idea of servo control of inspired oxygen was already in the air. At the time I first heard about it, the idea was to control FiO2 based … Continue reading →

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Not neonatology: missed all my friends at PAS, but be back next year, I hope.

Posted on 26 April 2022 by Keith Barrington

I was disappointed to not be able to go to PAS this year, mostly because I am privileged to have a circle of former trainees, colleagues and friends from around the world who are all involved in trying to improve … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research | 5 Comments

More randomized trials of magic in newborn infants

Posted on 26 April 2022 by Keith Barrington

The scientific basis of neonatology is vitally important to me, the enormous advances that we have made have all been founded on basic and clinical science. So I can get quite agitated when I see articles reporting trials of interventions … Continue reading →

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Does knowing the genetic abnormality change management? And should it?

Posted on 22 April 2022 by Keith Barrington

Just after I pressed “post” for a recent addition to the blog, I saw this appear. (Callahan KP, et al. Influence of Genetic Information on Neonatologists’ Decisions: A Psychological Experiment. Pediatrics. 2022;149). It illustrates some major problems in how neonatologists … Continue reading →

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Long term impacts of antenatal steroids

Posted on 20 April 2022 by Keith Barrington

To return to a concern expressed in a recent blog, there are animal models and some observational data that suggest that antenatal steroids (ANS) could have a negative effect on cerebral development, at least with the doses used currently. Among … Continue reading →

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Should every baby have their Genome sequenced?

Posted on 19 April 2022 by Keith Barrington

Annie Janvier, John Lantos and I have just published an article about Next Generation Sequencing (Janvier A, et al. Next generation sequencing in neonatology: what does it mean for the next generation? Hum Genet. 2022), which is a common way … Continue reading →

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Creating smoke-free homes for preterm babies

Posted on 18 April 2022 by Keith Barrington

In response to my previous post about preterms smoking I was directed to a recent publication about the issue, Notley C, et al. Development of a Smoke-Free Home Intervention for Families of Babies Admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care. Int J … Continue reading →

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Evidence-based neonatology, or science based neonatology?

Posted on 14 April 2022 by Keith Barrington

To many followers of this blog, the title may seem a little strange; is there any difference? Surely science underlies all of our field, and testing treatments in adequately designed trials leads to progressive improvements through the application of evidence-based … Continue reading →

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Antenatal steroids prior to late preterm delivery; still many questions, but a major shift in practice.

Posted on 7 April 2022 by Keith Barrington

It can sometimes take years for major advances in medicine, based on clear evidence of improved outcomes, to lead to shifts in practice. One example is the initial demonstration by Liggins and Howie that antenatal steroids (ANS) improved survival of … Continue reading →

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Preterm babies, PLEASE don’t smoke!

Posted on 5 April 2022 by Keith Barrington

One of the most addictive and harmful drugs of all is perfectly legal. Tobacco, and the nicotine it contains, are subject to prohibition for adults nowhere in the world, despite millions of deaths, prolonged severe disability, and being probably as … Continue reading →

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