Author Archives: Keith Barrington

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About Keith Barrington

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

NRP Works!

Posted on 23 September 2015 by Keith Barrington

When the neonatal resuscitation program was first introduced I think many of us had mixed feelings. I was concerned that some of the initial recommendations were opinion-based rather than evidence-based  (and they weren’t all consistent with my opinions, which are … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Many unethical pain studies in newborns

Posted on 23 September 2015 by Keith Barrington

Carlo Bellieni and Celeste Johnston (Conflict of Interest flag, I have collaborated with both of them) have just reviewed a couple of recent years research of analgesic interventions in the newborn. Of 46 randomized studies of painful procedures, 70% had … Continue reading →

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

An astounding betrayal

Posted on 21 September 2015 by Keith Barrington

Some of us may have heard of the problems with the data concerning SSRIs (a commonly used class of antidepressants) and, in particular, young people. It appears that drug companies hid and distorted data from controlled trials, in order to … Continue reading →

Posted in Not neonatology | 3 Comments

Burping babies

Posted on 17 September 2015 by Keith Barrington

It is very satisfying sometimes, to sit a baby on your knee, lean them forward slightly and rub or pat their back until a loud pleasing burp is heard. Parenting websites, and MDs, nurses, and midwives often promote burping as … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research | 3 Comments

Do Blood transfusions trigger NEC? This month the answer is no.

Posted on 16 September 2015 by Keith Barrington

OK, not exactly this month, but “towards the end of last year” wouldn’t have been as good a title. Three case-control studies, with some differences in design and implementation, but all 3 with the same result, no evidence that red … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Nasal ventilation after extubation, does synchronisation matter?

Posted on 16 September 2015 by Keith Barrington

When we performed the trial of nasal ventilation post-extubation in San Diego we used the Infantstar ventilator, synchronised to the babies’ respiratory efforts with a Graseby capsule stuck on the abdomen. Two other trials also used the same system, and … Continue reading →

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Lower oxygen resuscitation for preterms?

Posted on 15 September 2015 by Keith Barrington

A new publication from a group of us in the CNN, suggests that the answer to that query is ‘not so fast’. Rabi Y, Lodha A, Soraisham A, Singhal N, Barrington K, Shah PS, et al. Outcomes of preterm infants following … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

NICUs are working better: still room for improvement.

Posted on 11 September 2015 by Keith Barrington

As NICUs have become more effective, any proportional incremental improvements will necessarily get smaller, so larger and larger datasets will be needed to show any trends. The NICHD has just published data about survival and major acute morbidities among extremely … Continue reading →

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How long is too long?

Posted on 11 September 2015 by Keith Barrington

When a baby is unexpectedly born without a heart beat, and resuscitation is initiated, the outcome may be a failed resuscitation. Even if everything is done correctly. If you are doing everything correctly, and the baby doesn’t respond right away, … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

The new AAP position statement concerning extremely preterm birth decision making. A great leap… sideways.

Posted on 8 September 2015 by Keith Barrington

To me, this new ‘clinical report’ was a major disappointment. Even though there are some good parts to this statement, there is one huge, major failing: there is absolutely no evidence that parents were consulted or included in the process of … Continue reading →

Posted in Clinical Practice Guidelines | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments