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OBJECTIVE: Disagreement exists concerning the appropriate delivery room management of the airway of vigorous meconium-stained infants. Some suggest a universal approach to intubation and suctioning of the airway in all such neonates, whereas others advocate a selective approach. We performed this investigation: 1) to assess whether intubation and suctioning of apparently vigorous, meconium-stained neonates would reduce the incidence of meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS); and 2) to determine the frequency of complications from delivery room intubation and suctioning of such infants. METHODS: Inclusion criteria included: 1) gestational age >/=37 weeks; 2) birth through meconium-stained amniotic fluid of any consistency; and 3) apparent vigor immediately after birth. Subjects were randomized to be intubated and suctioned (INT) or to expectant management (EXP). Primary outcome measures included: 1) the incidence of respiratory distress, including MAS, and 2) the incidence of complications from intubation. RESULTS: A total of 2094 neonates were enrolled from 12 participating centers (1051 INT and 1043 EXP). Meconium-stained amniotic fluid consistency was similar in both groups. Of the 149 (7.1%) infants that subsequently demonstrated respiratory distress, 62 (3.0%) had MAS and 87 (4.2%) had findings attributed to other disorders. There were no significant differences between groups in the occurrence of MAS (INT = 3.2%; EXP = 2.7%) or in the development of other respiratory disorders (INT = 3.8%; EXP = 4.5%). Of 1098 successfully intubated infants, 42 (3.8%) had a total of 51 complications of the procedure. In all cases, the complications were mild and transient in nature. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with expectant management, intubation and suctioning of the apparently vigorous meconium-stained infant does not result in a decreased incidence of MAS or other respiratory disorders. Complications of intubation are infrequent and short-lived.

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An intervention strategy was designed to reduce the high endemic rates of nosocomial bacteraemia in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in Argentina where no changes can be expected in the ratio of patients to nurses. After surveillance of high-risk procedures, guidelines were developed by physician and nurse consensus, based on CDC guidelines and adapted to actual circumstances for handwashing, handling of infants, care of intravenous lines and suction of endotracheal tubes. These guidelines were taught to all involved personnel and made effective on July 1, 1995. Data from blood cultures obtained after 72 h of life and on patient-days in the unit were collected for 1 year periods before (P1), and, after (P2) this intervention strategy was instituted. During P1, the overall bacteraemia rate was 20/1000 patient-days, and the Gram-negative bacteraemia rate was 7.7/1000 patient-days but bacteraemia and Gram-negative bacteraemia rates dropped to 12.4 and 2.2/1000 patient-days respectively (P < 0.003) during P2. We conclude that simple intervention strategies such as the one developed at our institution can reduce rates of nosocomial infection.

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BACKGROUND: Intravenous (i.v.) hydrocortisone (HC) has been used recently in selected preterm infants for hypotension soon after birth. During the same time period that HC was used, there was a marked increase in the incidence of disseminated candidal infections (DCIs). OBJECTIVE: To determine whether there is an association between DCI in the first 35 days of life and i.v. HC in preterm infants. RESEARCH DESIGN: A hospital case-control study comparing the exposure of HC between preterm infants with DCI and matched infants without DCI. SETTING: A tertiary level intensive care nursery in a major teaching hospital in San Francisco, CA. PATIENTS: Seventeen preterm infants with DCI and 25 infants without DCI, with gestational age younger than 28 weeks and birth weight less than 1000 g, inborn and outborn admitted to the intensive care nursery between January 1992 and September 1993. METHODS: All preterm infants diagnosed with DCI at younger than 35 days of age were identified using a perinatal and neonatal database. DCI was defined as a blood, cerebrospinal fluid, or two urine cultures positive for Candida requiring antifungal therapy. A control group of uninfected infants matched for the major risk factors for DCI (gestational age, birth weight, duration of intubation, broad-spectrum antibiotics, and i.v. alimentation, including lipids and central venous catheters) admitted during the same period was identified using the same database. Postmatching comparison was performed for several other factors to detect any other differences between the groups. RESULTS: The infants with DCI (n = 17) and control infants (n = 25) had no statistical difference in exposure to the major risk factors for DCI or in postmatching comparison. Ten (59%) of the infants with DCI were receiving HC at the time of infection, whereas four (16%) of the control infants received HC during the first 35 days of life. Infants with DCI were 7.5 times as likely as control infants (95% confidence interval, 5 to 11) to have received IV HC before the onset of fungal infection. CONCLUSION: We conclude that the administration of i.v. HC significantly increases the risk of DCI in susceptible preterm infants younger than 35 days of age. The potentially serious risks of DCI should be considered particularly in the patient selection process for administration of i.v. HC.

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Percutaneous balloon aortic valvotomy using one or more balloons in sequential approach was attempted in 11 non selected neonates with critical aortic valve stenosis. The procedure was complete in 9 (81%), and they represent the study group with a mean age of 19 days. Using a balloon/annulus ratio of 0.86, the transvalvar gradient decreased from 49 to 25 mmHg, and left ventricular systolic pressure fell from 112 mmHg to 96 mmHg (p < 0.01, respectively). Fifty-five percent (5/9) of the patients developed a new aortic regurgitation, only one with grade 3. The maximal instantaneous Doppler gradient recorded in 7 neonates before and after valvotomy dropped from 67 to 35 mmHg (p < 0.01); while the left ventricular shortening fraction increased from 15 to 31% (p < 0.01). The Doppler gradient was correlated with the left ventricular shortening fraction (r:0.72) and the aortic regurgitation with the balloon/annulus ratio (r:0.82). The balloon pulmonary valvotomy was unsuccessful in 2 neonates (22%), both with hypoplastic left ventricle, both of which died in the operating room. Echocardiographic features of reestenosis were not found in the follow-up period (14 +/- 10 months); only one patient may need a future surgical intervention because significant aortic insufficiency. The pulmonary balloon valvotomy is a safe and effective therapy that must be used as the first step in the management of neonates with critical aortic stenosis in absence of hypoplastic left ventricle.

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Percutaneous pulmonary balloon valvotomy using one balloon or more in sequential approach was attempted in 9 no selected neonates with critical pulmonary valve stenosis between March 1985 and October 1990 (mean age 10 + 8.6 days). The procedure was successful in seven of them (78%) in whom with a 1.22 + 0.2 balloon/annulus ratio the right ventricular systolic pressure decreased from 96 to 45 mmHg (p < 0.001), the transvalvular gradient from 65 to 23 mmHg (p < 0.001); and the systemic oxygen saturation increased from 69 to 86% (p < 0.001). In one patient the valve was not crossed. Two patients underwent surgery because unsuccessful balloon valvotomy result in the immediate and mid term period: hypoplastic right ventricle in one, and inferior vena cava thrombosis that prevent a second dilation in the other respectively. The mid term follow up showed a 62% (5/8) of successful result. Although the complex methodology and complications are not uncommon, the balloon pulmonary valvotomy is a safely and effective therapy for neonates with critical pulmonary stenosis.

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Neonatal polycythemia is a frequent finding after pregnancies complicated by diabetes and by maternal hypertension with intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR). It is still unclear if the association of polycythemia with hypertension is the result of IUGR or of hypertension per se. To establish the incidence of neonatal polycythemia in populations at risk, we analyzed the results of hematocrit values obtained from 1592 neonates born consecutively at the Hospital de Clinicas, Buenos Aires. Capillary hematocrit values were obtained by heel stick before 6 h of age. When the values were 65% or greater, new samples were obtained from an antecubital vein. The risk of polycythemia in appropriately grown infants of hypertensive mothers was 12.6-fold greater than the risk in the general population. These data show that maternal hypertension poses a significant risk for polycythemia, regardless of fetal growth. We suggest that, to prevent possible sequela, hematocrit is measured routinely in all infants of hypertensive mothers for prompt diagnosis and treatment.

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OBJECTIVES: The present study was designed to establish possible predictors of unfavorable outcome in infants with pulmonary valve stenosis. BACKGROUND: Balloon pulmonary valvuloplasty is the treatment of choice for typical pulmonary valve stenosis. Patients with dysplastic valves may be less suitable candidates for this procedure because they have morphologic abnormalities of the complex valve-anulus-trunk that cause the obstructive phenomenon. METHODS: Twenty-five children (mean age +/- SD 1.1 +/- 0.7 years) with normal anulus diameter underwent balloon pulmonary valvuloplasty using a balloon/anulus ratio of 1.2 +/- 0.11. From the lateral view of a right ventricular angiogram, the following variables were quantified and scored: A, supravalvular narrowing; B, texture of the valve surface; C, diastolic deformity of the Valsalva sinuses; D, trunk/anulus ratio; E, systolic valve motion; and F, presence of a contrast jet. Paired t test, stepwise multivariate correlation with "dummy" variable methods were applied for both hemodynamic and valve-anulus-trunk determinations. RESULTS: The right ventricular-pulmonary artery gradient decreased from 66 +/- 21 (range 40 to 120) to 24 +/- 11 (range 10 to 50) mm Hg (p less than 0.001), whereas the right ventricular systolic pressure decreased from 89 +/- 20 (range 60 to 130) to 48 +/- 15 (range 30 to 80) mm Hg (p less than 0.001). Only variables A, B and D had significant influence in a percent reduction in right ventricular pulmonary artery gradient (R2 0.94, SEE 5.7; p less than 0.001). A score greater than or equal to greater than 4 obtained by adding the values from these three variables was correlated with poor outcome. CONCLUSIONS: These data show that there is an adequate relation between scores and outcome. We conclude that children less than 2 years old with pulmonary valve stenosis and a score greater than or equal to 4 should not be candidates for balloon pulmonary valvuloplasty.

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OBJECTIVE: To establish if the pressure indicated in the manometer of an infant ventilator (IV 100B, Sechrist, Anaheim, CA) reflects the true pressure delivered to the proximal airway during mechanical ventilation in the neonatal ICU. DESIGN: With approval of our Institutional Research Board, data were collected prospectively. Peak inspiratory pressure and end-expiratory pressure were measured at the "Y" piece of the breathing tubing. Pressure readings from the conventional ventilator's manometer were compared with simultaneously obtained measurements using an electronic monitor. SETTING: This study was conducted in a 45-bed neonatal ICU, admitting 700 to 750 newborns per year. PATIENTS: Twelve neonates who required mechanical ventilation were included in the study. INTERVENTIONS: Specific interventions were not made by study design. Measurements routinely obtained were compared. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Two hundred seventy-five simultaneous measurements of peak inspiratory pressure and positive end-expiratory pressure were compared. Peak inspiratory pressure values were higher with the electronic monitor in 273 (99%) of 275 measurements and the mean of the differences between the electronic monitor and ventilator's manometer was statistically significant (p less than .001). For positive end-expiratory pressure measurements, values indicated by the electronic monitor were lower in 152 (55%) of 275 determinations, equal in 65 (23%), and higher in 58 (21%) determinations. Percent variations between methods ranged from 0% to 140% for peak inspiratory pressures and from 0% to 500% for positive end-expiratory pressure. CONCLUSIONS: These data demonstrate that it is impossible to know the true pressure delivered to the proximal airway of a neonate during mechanical ventilation by observing the ventilator pressure manometer. The manometer readings consistently underestimate the true peak inspiratory pressure values and are very unpredictable regarding positive end-expiratory pressure values. These findings support the use of other methods to monitor the proximal airway pressure besides the ventilator's manometer in the neonatal ICU. Furthermore, mean airway pressure should not be calculated from the pressure readings obtained from the tested ventilator's manometer.

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The blood culture results of all samples obtained from newborns at Grady Memorial Hospital, Atlanta, Ga., during a 6-month period were analyzed to determine the time required for a blood culture to become positive, the time at which a culture could safely be considered negative, and the spectrum of isolated organisms. During the study period, 1,248 samples were submitted from all nurseries and processed by an automated detection instrument (BACTEC NR660). Of the 1,248 samples, 98 (7.8%) were positive by the end of a 7-day processing period; 29 of the 98 were classified as definite bacterial pathogens, 52 were classified as possible bacterial pathogens, 9 were classified as yeasts, and 8 were classified as contaminants. Virtually all organisms (28 of 29) categorized as definite pathogens were identified by day 2 of processing, and all were identified by day 4. All isolates of group B streptococcus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella species, and Staphylococcus aureus were identified by day 2. Of all positive blood cultures, 79% were identified by day 2, 88% were identified by day 3, and 94% were identified by day 4. Of the 21 isolates identified after day 2, the only definite pathogen was from a sick baby in the intensive care unit. From among the 870 term low-risk newborns cultured because of maternal risk factors, only four possible pathogens were identified after day 2. The positive and negative predictive values of blood culture at days 2 and 4 were 92 and 99%, respectively. We conclude that, in our institution, (i) a 2-day processing period is sufficient to detect positive blood cultures in the asymptomatic term infant, (ii) a 4-day processing period will detect virtually all clinically important infections, and (iii) clinical yield from continuing blood culture processing beyond 4 days does not justify the time and cost involved.

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