An Observational, Prospective, Multicenter, Registry-Based Cohort Study Comparing Conservative and Medical Management for Patent Ductus Arteriosus

No consensus has been reached on which patent ductus arteriosus (PDAs) in preterm infants require treatment and if so, how, and when they should be treated. A prospective, multicenter, cohort study was conducted to compare the effects of conservative approaches and medical treatment options on ductal closure at discharge, surgical ligation, prematurity-related morbidities, and mortality. Infants between 24(0/7)and 28(6/7)weeks of gestation from 24 neonatal intensive care units were enrolled. Data on PDA management and patients' clinical characteristics were recorded prospectively. Patients with moderate-to-large PDA were compared. Among the 1,193 enrolled infants (26.7 +/- 1.4 weeks and 926 +/- 243 g), 649 (54%) had no or small PDA, whereas 544 (46%) had moderate-to-large PDA. One hundred thirty (24%) infants with moderate-to-large PDA were managed conservatively, in contrast to 414 (76%) who received medical treatment. Eighty (62%) of 130 infants who were managed conservatively did not receive any rescue treatment and the PDA closure rate was 53% at discharge. There were no differences in the rates of late-onset sepsis, necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), retinopathy of prematurity, intraventricular hemorrhage (>= Grade 3), surgical ligation, and presence of PDA at discharge between conservatively-managed and medically-treated infants (p> 0.05). Multivariate analysis including perinatal factors showed that medical treatment was associated with increased risk for mortality (OR 1.68, 95% Cl 1.01-2.80,p= 0.046), but decreased risk for BPD or death (BPD/death) (OR 0.59, 95%Cl 0.37-0.92,p= 0.022). The preferred treatment options were ibuprofen (intravenous 36%, oral 31%), and paracetamol (intravenous 26%, oral 7%). Infants who were treated with oral paracetamol had higher rates of NEC and mortality in comparison to other treatment options. Infants treated before postnatal day 7 had higher rates of mortality and BPD/death than infants who were conservatively managed or treated beyond day 7 (p= 0.009 and 0.007, respectively). In preterm infants born at <29 weeks of gestation with moderate-to-large PDA, medical treatment did not show any reduction in the rates of open PDA at discharge, surgical or prematurity-related secondary outcomes. In addition to the high incidence of spontaneous closure of PDA in the first week of life, early treatment (<7 days) was associated with higher rates of mortality and BPD/death

Original Article The prevalence and diagnostic criteria of health-care associated infections in neonatal intensive care units in Turkey: A multicenter point- prevalence study

Background: Healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) in the neonatal period cause substantial morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. Our purpose was to determine the prevalence of HAIs, antimicrobial susceptibility of causative agents, and the adaptivity of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) criteria in neonatal HAI diagnosis

Neonatal Resuscitation Practices in Turkey: A Survey of the Turkish Neonatal Society and the Union of European Neonatal and Perinatal Societies

Objective: Optimal care in the delivery room is important to decrease neonatal morbidity and mortality. We aimed to evaluate neonatal resuscitation practices in Turkish centers. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey consisted of a 91-item questionnaire focused on delivery room practices in neonatal resuscitation and was sent to 50 Turkish centers. Hospitals with <2500 and those with ≥2500 births/year were compared. Results: In 2018, approximately 240 000 births occurred at participating hospitals with a median of 2630 births/year. Participating hospitals were able to provide nasal continuous-positive- airway-pressure/high-flow nasal cannula, mechanical ventilation, high-frequency oscillatory ventilation, inhaled nitric oxide, and therapeutic hypothermia similarly. Antenatal counseling was routinely performed on parents at 56% of all centers. A resuscitation team was present at 72% of deliveries. Umbilical cord management for both term and preterm infants was similar between centers. The rate of delayed cord clamping was approximately 60% in term and late preterm infants. Thermal management for preterm infants (<32 weeks) was similar. Hospitals had appropriate equipment with similar rates of interventions and management, except conti nuous-positive-airway-pressure and positive-end-expiratory-pressure levels (cmH2O) used in preterm infants (P = .021, and P = .032). Ethical and educational aspects were also similar. Conclusions: This survey provided information on neonatal resuscitation practices in a sam- ple of hospitals from all regions of Turkey and allowed us to see weaknesses in some fields. Although adherence to the guidelines was high among centers, further implementations are required in the areas of antenatal counseling, cord management, and circulation assessment in the delivery room

Early neonatal outcomes of very-low-birth-weight infants in Turkey: A prospective multicenter study of the Turkish Neonatal Society

Beken, Serdar/0000-0002-8609-2684; BAS, AHMET YAGMUR/0000-0002-1329-2167; Bulbul, Ali/0000-0002-3510-3056; Karatekin, Guner/0000-0001-7112-0323WOS: 000534242500056PubMed: 31851725Objective To investigate the early neonatal outcomes of very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) infants discharged home from neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in Turkey. Material and methods A prospective cohort study was performed between April 1, 2016 and April 30, 2017. the study included VLBW infants admitted to level III NICUs. Perinatal and neonatal data of all infants born with a birth weight of.1500 g were collected for infants who survived. Results Data from 69 NICUs were obtained. the mean birth weight and gestational age were 1137 +/- 245 g and 29 +/- 2.4 weeks, respectively. During the study period, 78% of VLBW infants survived to discharge and 48% of survived infants had no major neonatal morbidity. VLBW infants who survived were evaluated in terms of major morbidities: bronchopulmonary dysplasia was detected in 23.7% of infants, necrotizing enterocolitis in 9.1%, blood culture proven late-onset sepsis (LOS) in 21.1%, blood culture negative LOS in 21.3%, severe intraventricular hemorrhage in 5.4% and severe retinopathy of prematurity in 11.1%. Hemodynamically significant patent ductus arteriosus was diagnosed in 24.8% of infants. Antenatal steroids were administered to 42.9% of mothers. Conclusion the present investigation is the first multicenter study to include epidemiological information on VLBW infants in Turkey. Morbidity rate in VLBW infants is a serious concern and higher than those in developed countries. Implementation of oxygen therapy with appropriate monitoring, better antenatal and neonatal care and control of sepsis may reduce the prevalence of neonatal morbidities. Therefore, monitoring standards of neonatal care and implementing quality improvement projects across the country are essential for improving neonatal outcomes in Turkish NICUs.Turkish Neonatal Society [2-2016]; Turkish Neonatal SocietyThis study was supported by the Turkish Neonatal Society, http://www.neonatology.org.tr, number 2-2016, received by AYB. Turkish Neonatal Society funded the study's online registry system. the funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript