Clinical characteristics and response to prophylactic fluconazole of preterm VLBW neonates with baseline and acquired fungal colonisation in NICU: data from a multicentre RCT.

BACKGROUND: Fungal colonisation by Candida spp. affects a high proportion of VLBW neonates in NICU. However, few data are available on the clinical characteristics of colonisation in preterm infants who are colonised at baseline via vertical transmission, compared to preterms who become colonised during their stay in NICU via horizontal transmission. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We reviewed the database of a multicentre, randomised trial of prophylactic fluconazole in VLBW neonates conducted in 8 Italian NICUs in the years 2004 and 2005 (Manzoni et al., NEJM 2007;356(24):2483-95). Per the protocol, all enrolled infants underwent weekly surveillance cultures from birth till discharge. We investigated the frequency of the two different modalities of Candida colonisation in this population, as well as the clinical and outcome characteristics possibly related to them. RESULTS: Overall, Candida colonisation affected 54 of 336 infants (16.1%). Baseline (i.e., detected <3(rd) day of life) colonisation affected 16 (4.7%), and acquired 38 (11.4%), of the 54 colonised preterms. Infants with baseline colonisation had significantly higher birth weight (1229 ± 28 g vs. 1047 g ± 29, p = 0.01) and gestational age (30.2 wks ± 2.7 vs. 28.5 wks ± 2.6, p = 0.01), and were significantly more likely to limit progression from colonisation to invasive Candida infection when fluconazole prophylaxis was instituted (21.6% vs. 42.7%, p = 0.009). Isolation of C. parapsilosis was significantly more frequent in infants with acquired colonisation. CONCLUSIONS: Infants with baseline and acquired colonisation differ for demographics characteristics and for their response to fluconazole prophylaxis. This information may be useful for targeting more accurate management strategies for these two different groups of colonised preterms in NICU.

[The newborn infant of a mother with tuberculosis]. / Nato da madre con TBC.

TBC is a major infectious emergency in the world. OMS suggest that there are 8 millions of affected every year and 2 millions of deaths. Italy is considered a country with low prevalence, but the increase of the immigration from Africa Asia and Est Europa (country with high risk) imposes attention to the problem. The delivery is a critical moment to investigate people at risk of disease. The infection of the newborn can happen intrauterine or in the expulsive period, but is possible also at home, from somebody affected by an active pulmonary disease. Diagnosis in the newborn is not easy for the aspecificity of clinical signs and for the frequent initial negativeness of Mantoux test. Culture of placenta, gastric aspirate, tracheal secretions, urine would be requested, cerebrospinal fluid if necessary. Neonatal disease needs therapy with isoniazide, rifampicine, pirazinamide and, or ethambutol, or streptomycin. Profilaxis of a newborn from a woman affected by an active form of tuberculosis or living with people affected by an active pulmonary form consists in giving isoniazide until diagnostic tests are negative and in removing the sicks (only with pulmonary disease). New dangerous kinds of pharmacological multiresistent tuberculosis are appeared in the last years in the world and, with the coinfection HIV-TBC and the reorganization of the surveillance system, represents the major obligation for the next years.

Focus on pandemic 2009 H1N1 influenza (swine flu).

At the moment of the onset of the pandemic there were few data about the transmission of the 2009 H1N1 virus infection from the mother to the newborn. Nevertheless neonates born to an ill mother from 2 days before through 7 days after illness onset in the mother were thought to be exposed and potentially infected. In October 2009 the Infectious Disease Group of the Italian Society of Neonatology provided a guide regarded the management of suspected or confirmed maternal infection with 2009 H1N1 influenza virus within labor and delivery, postpartum, and newborn care settings in hospitals. It was based on the available scientific information, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Italian Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Policy recommendations in order to protect the infant from exposure to respiratory secretion during or immediately after delivery. Moreover, we published 300,000 copies of a more popular pamphlet for parents. Rigorous attention to Standard Precautions and Droplet Precautions is required to reduce the opportunities for the transmission of the infection in the health-care setting.

Lactoferrin and prevention of late-onset sepsis in the pre-term neonates.

Late-onset sepsis (LOS) affects a large proportion of pre-term neonates in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) worldwide, with high morbidity and related mortality, and frequent occurrence of severe late neurodevelopmental impairment. Due to the frequency, severity and difficulties in early diagnosis and prompt therapy, prevention is crucial for decreasing the burden of infection-related complications in NICUs. It is well known that feeding with fresh maternal milk, hygiene measures and the cautious use of H2-blockers are related with a decreased risk of developing sepsis. However, evidence from randomised clinical trials exists only for fluconazole in the prevention of fungal infections in the NICU. Lactoferrin is the main whey protein in mammalian milk, and is involved in innate immune host defences. Notably, human lactoferrin can be found at increased concentrations in colostrum and in milk from mothers of premature neonates. Human (hLF) and bovine lactoferrin (bLF) share a high (77%) amino-acid homology, and the same N-terminal peptide responsible for antimicrobial activity, called lactoferricin. In vitro, bLF shows potent direct antimicrobial activity against all types of pathogens, which occurs via anti-cell wall actions and leads to disintegration of the micro-organism's membranes. bLF is also synergistic with many antimicrobials and antifungals, and promotes growth and differentiation of the immature gut. Based on this background data, a randomised clinical trial was recently conducted in very low birth weight pre-term neonates given bLF alone or with the probiotic Lactobacillus GG. The aim of the trial was to assess the ability of bLF to prevent late-onset sepsis of any origin in the studied infants during their stay in the NICU. This article discusses the preliminary data from this study, along with the proposed mechanisms of action of bLF in pre-term infants.