Light protection of parenteral nutrition, cholestasis, and other prematurity-related morbidities in premature infants.

Introduction: Parenteral Nutrition (PN) can lead to intestinal failure associated liver disease (IFALD). There are no human studies to date studying specifically the benefits of light-protection on neonatal IFALD. Recently, the European Medicines Agency and the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN) both recommended full light protection of PN to reduce the risk of adverse clinical outcomes. Objective: The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of light-protecting PN on the incidence of cholestasis and peak direct bilirubin levels in premature infants. Study design: Retrospective chart review of preterm infants requiring PN for a minimum of 2 weeks with or without light-protection. After light protection of the PN solution, primary outcomes (including cholestasis and direct bilirubin levels) of both groups were compared. Secondary outcomes include evaluation of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), sepsis and mortality. Results: A total of 50 preterm infants <37 weeks gestation were included, 25 infants in each group. There was a statistically significant decrease in the rate of cholestasis (12 vs. 3, p = 0.005), median peak direct bilirubin levels (1.7 vs. 0.9 mg/dL, p = 0.02) and total bilirubin levels (4.1 vs. 3.4, p = 0.05) in the light-protection group compared to no light-protection group. There was a decrease in the incidence of severe BPD (with an increase of mild BPD, resulting in the same overall BPD rate) in the light-protection compared to no light-protection group (7 vs. 15, p = 0.0223). There was no difference in NEC, ROP, sepsis or mortality. Conclusion: Our study supports that the practice of light-protecting PN may reduce the incidence of IFALD in premature infants. Moreover, there was a trend toward decreased incidence of severe BPD in the light-protection group. Further light protection studies are needed to confirm these findings.

Dexmedetomidine for Sedation During Pediatric Noninvasive Ventilation.

BACKGROUND: Noninvasive ventilation (NIV) facilitates management of acute respiratory failure without intubation. Many pediatric patients cannot tolerate the discomfort associated with noninvasive support and require sedation with agents that may decrease respiratory drive. Dexmedetomidine does not decrease respiratory drive, and we hypothesized that its use would increase tolerance of noninvasive respiratory support without increasing risk for intubation. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was performed of all subjects at least 3 months of age with acute respiratory failure requiring NIV who were admitted to the pediatric ICU at a children's hospital for a 3-y period from 2015-2018. Subjects were stratified to those receiving continuous dexmedetomidine versus those not receiving sedation. Medical history was reviewed for developmental delay (DD) or intellectual disability (ID) as well as basic demographic information. To control the association between these variables with both dexmedetomidine use and intubation, augmented inverse probability weighting was utilized to establish equivalent baselines between the dexmedetomidine and no-sedation groups. Primary outcome was intubation rate within 6 h of initiation of dexmedetomidine infusion or NIV. RESULTS: Based on the strong association between age and dexmedetomidine use, a statistical model including subjects > age 5 was not able to be generated, and these subjects were excluded from final analysis. One-hundred eight subjects were included in the final statistical analysis, with 60 receiving dexmedetomidine and 48 receiving no sedation. Dexmedetomidine was effective at reducing agitation, with no difference noted in intubation rate at 6 h between subjects receiving dexmedetomidine versus no sedation (13.1 vs 12.4%). CONCLUSIONS: Dexmedetomidine may allow tolerance of NIV in acute respiratory failure without increasing risk for intubation, especially in preschool age patients and those with DD or ID. A larger study involving multiple centers would help support our conclusions.

Hydrocortisone and bronchopulmonary dysplasia: variables associated with response in premature infants.

OBJECTIVE: The primary objective was to evaluate hydrocortisone's efficacy for decreasing respiratory support in premature infants with developing bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). Secondary objectives included assessment of the impact of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), maternal history of chorioamnionitis, side effects and route of administration associated with hydrocortisone's efficacy. Dexamethasone as second-line treatment to decrease respiratory support was reviewed. METHODS: Retrospective chart review of preterm infants requiring respiratory support receiving hydrocortisone. RESULTS: A total of 48 patients were included. Successful extubation was achieved in 50% of intubated patients after hydrocortisone treatment with no major complications. In our small study, history of maternal chorioamnionitis, IUGR or route of administration did not affect the response. Rescue dexamethasone after hydrocortisone therapy was ineffective in the ten patients who failed extubation following hydrocortisone. CONCLUSION: Hydrocortisone is effective in decreasing respiratory support in patients with developing BPD without major complications. Randomized studies are warranted to confirm our findings.

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Endovascular Infection in a Neonate: Prolonged, Safe, and Effective Use of Daptomycin and Enoxaparin.

We report on a former 28-week gestation neonate with persistent methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) endocarditis, with a heterozygous Factor V Leiden mutation. The neonate became clinically ill after 1 week of life, with positive blood cultures for MRSA. Echocardiography revealed large thrombi in the inferior vena cava and right atrium. Bacteremia persisted despite removal of umbilical arterial and venous catheters and empiric administration of therapeutic doses of vancomycin (minimum inhibitory concentration [MIC] 2 mg/L) and ceftazidime. To narrow therapy, ceftazidime was discontinued, while gentamicin and rifampin were added. Cultures remained positive and, therefore, linezolid was added, and subsequent blood cultures became negative. Since prolonged linezolid use of 2 weeks or longer carries potential adverse effects, antibiotics were changed to daptomycin, which is bactericidal and recommended for treatment of invasive MRSA infections when vancomycin MICs are ≥2 mg/L to minimize vancomycin treatment failure. Enoxaparin was initiated, with anti-Xa assay monitoring. A workup for thrombophilia revealed heterozygous Factor V Leiden mutation. Serial echocardiograms demonstrated decreasing size of the thrombi, which were no longer visualized at 2 months of age. Creatinine kinase remained normal. The infant had no seizures on daptomycin. The management of persistent MRSA bacteremia in neonates associated with a large thrombus poses a unique challenge due to the long duration of treatment. To our knowledge, this is the first case of prolonged and safe daptomycin and enoxaparin use in a preterm neonate. Daptomycin may be considered in cases of clinical failure with vancomycin when a lengthy treatment course is contemplated.