Tag Archives: Randomized Controlled Trials

Neonatal Research Shorts : March 2026

Posted on 27 March 2026 by Keith Barrington

Pineda R, et al. Language and sound exposure across neonatal intensive care hospitalization and relationships with early outcome. J Perinatol 2026. In this short term outcome study, 64 very preterm infants <29 weeks GA were evaluated at near-term age with … Continue reading →

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

Steroids and BPD, what do we really know?

Posted on 26 March 2026 by Keith Barrington

My first foray into systematic review and meta-analysis was about 25 years ago with this article Barrington KJ. The adverse neuro-developmental effects of postnatal steroids in the preterm infant: a systematic review of RCTs. BMC Pediatr. 2001;1:1. As you can … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Neonatal Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, what is it and how should we treat it?

Posted on 20 March 2026 by Keith Barrington

ARDS is a fairly common problem in the adult and the paediatric ICU; following trauma, or systemic sepsis, or other extrapulmonary insults, usually inflammatory in nature, or as a complication of direct pulmonary insults, such as pneumonia or aspiration of … Continue reading →

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

Neonatal Research Shorts : February 2026

Posted on 17 March 2026 by Keith Barrington

Dereymaeker A, et al. Neonatal sleep physiology and early executive functioning in preterm children. Pediatr Res. 2026. In this observational study, the authors recorded sleep architecture overnight shortly prior to discharge of 76 preterm infants, averaging 30 weeks GA. The … Continue reading →

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

Automated oxygen control; is it worth it?

Posted on 18 February 2026 by Keith Barrington

The history of automated controls of inspired oxygen goes back many decades, to before the invention of pulse oximetry. The first studies I remember used transcutaneous PO2 as the target variable, which had major limitations, as well as the advantage … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Prophylactic acetaminophen in the preterm

Posted on 17 February 2026 by Keith Barrington

In a newly published trial (Roze JC, et al. Prophylactic Treatment of Patent Ductus Arteriosus With Acetaminophen: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Pediatr. 2026) nearly 800 infants of 23 to <29 weeks GA were randomized within 12 hours of birth. … Continue reading →

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

How much oxygen for the resuscitation of the preterm?

Posted on 29 December 2025 by Keith Barrington

I like a good acronym, so my initial response to the new TORPIDO trial was very positive! TORPIDO 30/60 was a large multicentre RCT comparing initial FiO2 concentrations for resuscitation of the preterm infant (Oei JL, et al. Targeted Oxygen … Continue reading →

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

Why doesn’t closing the PDA help preterm infants?

Posted on 12 December 2025 by Keith Barrington

I have been continuing to think about this issue, so will subject you all to some of my thoughts. The large RCTs of medication for closure of the PDA show no benefit, and some evidence of harms, but we all … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Should we ever close the PDA?

Posted on 10 December 2025 by Keith Barrington

The latest large multicentre RCT has just been published. Laughon MM, et al. Expectant Management vs Medication for Patent Ductus Arteriosus in Preterm Infants. JAMA. 2025. In this trial, infants of 22 to 28 weeks GA were randomized at between … Continue reading →

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

Is this article trustworthy?

Posted on 21 November 2025 by Keith Barrington

There are many ways that an article in the medical literature may not be worthy of trust, and whose results may be unreliable. I remember one of my own trials, LACUNA, which was a pilot RCT of lactoferrin supplementation to … Continue reading →

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