Author Archives: Keith Barrington

Unknown's avatar

About Keith Barrington

I am a neonatologist and clinical researcher at Sainte Justine University Health Center in Montréal

Erythropoietin for brain protection in the very preterm? Not worth Penuts.

Posted on 17 January 2020 by Keith Barrington

That isn’t a mis-spelling, just a bad attempt to play with the acronym for a good trial; the PENUT trial, just published in the (FP)NEJM. (Juul SE, et al. A Randomized Trial of Erythropoietin for Neuroprotection in Preterm Infants. N … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Gene therapy for SMA; who will win the lottery?

Posted on 10 January 2020 by Keith Barrington

There are few things more disgusting than the obscene actions of drug companies that profit off the distress of dying babies and their families. You might think that the price of a drug would be based on development and production … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Oropharyngeal airways for resuscitation of the preterm? Throw them away!

Posted on 18 December 2019 by Keith Barrington

When I saw the title of this new study I thought immediately this has to either be by Peter Davis or one or more of his disciples… former trainees, I mean. In fact it is both: Kamlin COF, et al. … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Oxygen for resuscitation of the very preterm

Posted on 17 December 2019 by Keith Barrington

One of the paradoxes of neonatal respiratory control physiology is that hypoxia depresses respiration whilst hyperoxia stimulates breathing efforts. In fact it’s not such a paradox, prolonged hypoxia in adults decreases respiratory drive also. But could this be relevant in … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Therapeutic Hypothermia post cardiac arrest

Posted on 13 December 2019 by Keith Barrington

This is a bit off-topic for this blog, but many of you will know that cooling is now used for many other patients than just our full-term asphyxias. Adults who remain with depressed levels of consciousness after resuscitation from a … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research | Tagged | 1 Comment

International variations in outcomes of extreme preterm infants

Posted on 9 December 2019 by Keith Barrington

A publication from an international collaboration of neonatal databases has just appeared, (Lui K, et al. Trends in Outcomes for Neonates Born Very Preterm and Very Low Birth Weight in 11 High-Income Countries. J Pediatr. 2019). It makes very interesting … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Platelet transfusion threshholds: 25,000 even for the highest risk infants?

Posted on 6 December 2019 by Keith Barrington

The Planet-2 trial that I posted about when it first came out showed no benefit among preterm infants, <34 weeks gestation when they received platelet transfusions at a threshold of 50,00 compared to waiting until they dropped to 25,000. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Diazoxide for hyperinsulinism? Not so fast

Posted on 5 December 2019 by Keith Barrington

Infants with congential persistent hyperinsulinism have been treated for years with diazoxide, well before many of the genetic mutations underlying the condition were known (there are now at least 14 of them!). Diazoxide seems to be relatively well tolerated in … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research | Tagged | 1 Comment

Donor human milk for congenital heart disease?

Posted on 26 November 2019 by Keith Barrington

Newborns with serious Congenital Heart Disease are at risk of intestinal injury which may present in a similar fashion to Necrotising Enterocolitis (NEC). Our local guidelines for eligibility for donor milk from our provincial milk bank include infants with significant … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Where does sepsis come from?

Posted on 25 November 2019 by Keith Barrington

One of the findings of the recent SIFT trial was that although the babies in the fast feeding group had shorter duration of parenteral nutrition, TPN, (and presumably of central lines), they did not have less late-onset sepsis, LOS. Why … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment