ADEPT - Abnormal Doppler Enteral Prescription Trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Pregnancies complicated by abnormal umbilical artery Doppler blood flow patterns often result in the baby being born both preterm and growth-restricted. These babies are at high risk of milk intolerance and necrotising enterocolitis, as well as post-natal growth failure, and there is no clinical consensus about how best to feed them. Policies of both early milk feeding and late milk feeding are widely used. This randomised controlled trial aims to determine whether a policy of early initiation of milk feeds is beneficial compared with late initiation. Optimising neonatal feeding for this group of babies may have long-term health implications and if either of these policies is shown to be beneficial it can be immediately adopted into clinical practice.</p> <p>Methods and Design</p> <p>Babies with gestational age below 35 weeks, and with birth weight below 10th centile for gestational age, will be randomly allocated to an "early" or "late" enteral feeding regimen, commencing milk feeds on day 2 and day 6 after birth, respectively. Feeds will be gradually increased over 9-13 days (depending on gestational age) using a schedule derived from those used in hospitals in the Eastern and South Western Regions of England, based on surveys of feeding practice. Primary outcome measures are time to establish full enteral feeding and necrotising enterocolitis; secondary outcomes include sepsis and growth. The target sample size is 400 babies. This sample size is large enough to detect a clinically meaningful difference of 3 days in time to establish full enteral feeds between the two feeding policies, with 90% power and a 5% 2-sided significance level. Initial recruitment period was 24 months, subsequently extended to 38 months.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>There is limited evidence from randomised controlled trials on which to base decisions regarding feeding policy in high risk preterm infants. This multicentre trial will help to guide clinical practice and may also provide pointers for future research.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN: 87351483</p

Outcome following patent ductus arteriosus ligation in premature infants:A retrospective cohort analysis

BACKGROUND: The patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is an important problem in premature infants. Surgical PDA ligation is usually only be considered when medical treatment has either failed or was contraindicated. The aims of our study were to determine the mortality and morbidity following patent ductus arteriosus ligation in premature infants, and whether prostaglandin synthetase inhibitor (PSI) use prior to ligation affects outcome. METHODS: A retrospective case note review study to determine the outcome of premature infants undergoing patent ductus arteriosus ligation in one tertiary neonatal intensive care unit and two paediatric cardiothoracic centres. RESULTS: We had follow-up data on 87 infants. Cumulative mortality rates at 7 days, 30 days and at hospital discharge were 2%, 8% and 20% respectively. The incidence of chronic lung disease, intraventricular haemorrhage, necrotising enterocolitis and retinopathy of prematurity were 77%, 39%, 26% and 28% respectively. There was no difference in mortality, incidence of chronic lung disease or duration of oxygen dependence between those who had and those who had not received a PSI prior to surgical ligation. In those who had received 2 or more courses of PSI prior to surgical ligation, there was a trend to increase in the duration of oxygen therapy and chronic lung disease, but no difference in mortality. CONCLUSION: This study shows that patent ductus arteriosus ligation is a relatively safe procedure (30 day survival 92%) but there is substantial late mortality and a high incidence of morbidity in the survivors. 2 or more courses of PSI prior to surgical ligation trends to increased oxygen dependence and chronic lung disease. This high risk population requires careful follow-up. A definitive prospective cohort study is lacking

8 Salafi scholars speak on Dr Yasir Qadhi’s theory : on Dr Yasir Qadhi’s void theory that the modern Salafi scholars “distorted” Ibn Taymiyyah’s view on ‘ruling by other than what Allāh has revealed’ and invented Istihlāl whence Ibn Taymiyyah did not mention it

’Abdul’Azeez bin Rayyis ar-Rayyis Shaykh ..

A critique of the statements of Dr Aa’id al-Qarni

Shaykh ‘Abdul’Azeez bin Rayyis ar-Rayyi

The nation-state form and the emergence of 'minorities' in Syria

Minorities are specifically modern political groupings: they belong to the era of nation-states. This article explores the emergence of minorities in Syria under the French mandate. It examines the contradictions caused by French attempts to impose a religious political order within the secular form of the nation-state, showing how that form created minorities, most of whom cannot simply be mapped onto the millets, or religious communities, of the Ottoman Empire. Using French and Syrian sources from the archives of the French High Commission, the article examines various religious and ethnolinguistic minorities to show how their emergence was governed by the nation-state form. French colonial policy influenced their development, but not their existence. The article draws on publications from the nationalist press of the period to show how the formation of minority and majority consciousness constitutes a larger process that is intimately linked to the nationstate form. The Syrian case is presented for comparative study and warns against an unreflective use of 'minority' as an analytical category

Incidencia de enterocolitis necrosante en niños prematuros alimentados precozmente

Introducción. La enterocolitis necrosante es una catástrofe multifactorial de los recién nacidos, generada por vasoconstricción visceral. Se discute el papel que juega el momento, tipo y velocidad de los incrementos de la vía oral en la patogenia de la entidad. Objetivo. Comparar la incidencia de enterocolitis necrosante y la mortalidad entre prematuros en quienes se inició alimentación entérica a las 48 horas de vida extrauterina, frente a otros en quienes se empezó al quinto día de vida. Materiales y métodos. Se llevó a cabo un ensayo clínico controlado de 239 neonatos de 750 a 1.500 gramos de peso y de 27 a 32 semanas de edad de gestación, asignados al azar, 135 a alimentación temprana y 104 a alimentación tardía con leche materna o fórmula láctea para prematuros. Se inició con un mililitro cada seis horas, para progresar en intervalos de tres horas y un incremento diario de hasta 20 ml/kg hasta llegar a 150 ml/kg al día, siempre y cuando no se observaran signos o síntomas de intolerancia a la vía oral. Resultados. Se presentaron 14 casos de enterocolitis necrosante en el grupo de alimentación temprana (10,4 %) y nueve (8,7 %) en el de alimentación tardía (RR=1,22; IC95 % 0,49-3,20; p=0,652). Cinco (3,7 %) niños fallecieron en el grupo de alimentación temprana (IC95 % 1,4-8,9) y ocho (7,7 %), en el de alimentación tardía (IC95 % 3,6-15,0), sin que estas diferencias fueran significativas (RR=0,46; IC95 % 0,12-1,60; p=0,182). Conclusión. El iniciar en forma temprana la alimentación entérica en neonatos prematuros no aumenta el riesgo de enterocolitis necrosante ni el de mortalidad y sí representa grandes ventajas para estos pacientes