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

Appropriate outcomes for neonatal research

Posted on 14 October 2014 by Keith Barrington

Neil Marlow has published a thoughtful, and thought provoking, article to address the issue outlined in the title. What are the appropriate outcomes when designing neonatal research studies? It has become almost a rule, that a multi-center trial of an … Continue reading →

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Upcoming Webinar

Posted on 9 October 2014 by Keith Barrington

If you are on their mailing list you will have received the following notice: Keith Barrington Oct. 22 Register today for our 2014-2015 Children’s Mercy Bioethics Center webinar series. The focus this year is “Ethical Issues in Pediatric Clinical Research.” … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research | 1 Comment

Probiotics prevent NEC in rats too!

Posted on 8 October 2014 by Keith Barrington

Mark Underwood has been very active in the investigations of probiotics and their effects on the neonatal bowel. His new publication is a fascinating exploration of what happens in a rat model of NEC when they receive bifidobacterium infantis, also … Continue reading →

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The voice of Parents, now in print.

Posted on 8 October 2014 by Keith Barrington

Katharina Staub and other parents have written and published an article in Acta Paediatrica. ‘ Our child is not just a gestational age‘. In the NICU babies are often referred to by how many weeks they spent in the uterus, … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research, The CPS antenatal counselling statement | Tagged | 1 Comment

Can Paracetamol (acetaminophen) close the ductus arteriosus?

Posted on 29 September 2014 by Keith Barrington

A new publication by Afif El-Khuffash and his colleagues (El-Khuffash A et al. Efficacy of paracetamol on patent ductus arteriosus closure may be dose dependent: evidence from human and murine studies. Pediatr Res. 2014;76(3):238-44) describes a retrospective review of paracetamol use in newborn … Continue reading →

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Probiotics: so what about those ELBW babies?

Posted on 24 September 2014 by Keith Barrington

After a comment to my previous post about probiotics, I wanted to clarify what I said about the ELBW baby, that is, the newborn with a birth weight below 1001 grams. It is true that there are few studies that … Continue reading →

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

The Time for a Confirmative Necrotizing Enterocolitis Probiotics Prevention Trial in the Extremely Low Birth Weight Infant in North America Is Well Past

Posted on 23 September 2014 by Keith Barrington

What on earth are these people waiting for? A number of authors from Toronto and elsewhere have written a ridiculous editorial (entitled ‘The Time for a Confirmative Necrotizing Enterocolitis Probiotics Prevention Trial in the Extremely Low Birth Weight Infant in … Continue reading →

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Not neonatology, not directly at least

Posted on 23 September 2014 by Keith Barrington

I am a constant follower of the Science-based medicine blogs.  They have several excellent writers including Mark Crislip who coined a widely quoted phrase about so-called integrative medicine, where science based medicine is mixed with all sorts of woo; acupuncture, … Continue reading →

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Buenos Aires

Posted on 20 September 2014 by Keith Barrington

On my way home from a great, but too short, trip to Buenos Aires. Spoke at a conference there. I had an afternoon off and was able to take a long walking tour, including taking the Avenida de Mayo. Where … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research | 4 Comments

Probiotics; why not? Too cheap, too easy?

Posted on 20 September 2014 by Keith Barrington

A nice new commentary piece in the Canadian Paediatric Journal (currently behind a paywall, should be free access in 6 months, if you want a copy I am sure that a judicious request could obtain one) asks exactly that question. Richard … Continue reading →

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