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-positiveairway-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 sample 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.

[Vancomycin-resistant enterococcus colonization in neonatal intensive care unit: prevention and eradication experience]. / Yenidogan Yogun Bakim Ünitesinde Vankomisine Dirençli Enterokok Kolonizasyonu: Korunma ve Eradikasyon Deneyimi.

Vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE) are important etiologic agents of nosocomial infections and colonization for hospitalized patients. Isolation rate of VRE is higher especially in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), due to the immune insufficiency of neonates, frequent use of antibiotics and prolonged duration of hospitalization. The aims of this report were to present the rapid dissemination of VRE colonization in our NICU, to determine the factors related to colonization and to share the precautions taken to prevent the dissemination. Upon the isolation of VRE from the urine culture of a premature infant followed up in the NICU, rectal swab specimens were obtained from this index patient, other patients staying at the NICU, the related health-care personnel and also environmental sampling was performed. Although strict contact precautions were implemented for the VRE positive patient, VRE were isolated from the rectal swabs of other patients and the number of VRE positive cases increased to 11 on the 18th day. No VRE were detected in the environmental samples. By strict adherence and compliance to isolation precautions, physical separation of VRE positive newborns and healthcare workers and education of the personnel, VRE colonization was eradicated on the 55th day. During the period between the first detection of VRE colonization and the management of eradication (August 10th-October 4th 2009), 133 patients were followed up in the NICU and 52 (40%) of those patients were colonized by VRE. Patients were divided into two groups according to the presence or absence of VRE colonization. These patients' anthropometric and clinical findings were evaluated retrospectively. Gestational age and birth weights of VRE positive and negative patients were 30.9 ± 3.8 weeks and 1441 ± 543 g; 34.5 ± 4 weeks and 2396 ± 917 g, respectively (p< 0.05). VRE colonization was detected on the postnatal 16th day (days between 2-144). VRE became negative in 10 (19.2%) of the 52 colonized patients during follow-up in the hospital. None of the patients developed infection or sepsis due to VRE and no fatal case was detected. Mean durations of mechanical ventilation, hospitalization and antibiotic therapy were 15 (1-102) days, 34 (6-201) days and 23 (7-90) days, respectively in VRE positive patients, whereas those data were 3 (1-40) days, 9 (1-106) days and 10 (1-42) days in VRE negative patients. Antibiotic use (especially cephalosporins), days on mechanical ventilation and length of hospitalization were found significantly higher in VRE positive patients (p< 0.05) than those negatives, statistically. According to multiple variance analysis, the factor which independently affected VRE development was "duration of vancomycin use" [p= 0.04, OR = 0.67, CI (95%) = 0.45-0.98]. VRE colonization is seen more frequently in newborns who have medical problems during follow-up. Therefore surveillance cultures that performed routinely in NICUs, would be helpful to detect VRE colonization in time and to implement isolation precautions rapidly in order to prevent dissemination of the organism and decrease the incidence of bacteremia and death.

Platelet mass index: is it a hope for reduction of platelet transfusion in NICU?

OBJECTIVE: Thrombocytopenia is a very common problem in neonatal intensive care unit whose only specific treatment is platelet (PLT) transfusion which has well-known risks. Our aim is to test whether using PLT mass-based transfusion guideline would result in fewer transfusions or not. METHODS: One hundred neonates with PLT count <100,000/µl were randomized into two groups: Group 1 (n = 50) was transfused according to PLT count-based guideline, whereas Group 2 (n = 50) was transfused according to PLT mass-based guideline. Subjects receiving one or more PLT transfusions and total number of PLT transfusions, hemorrhages, morbidity and mortality in both groups were recorded. RESULTS: Demographic characteristics, PLT counts of the infants and clinical conditions associated with thrombocytopenia in both groups were not different. There was no reduction in the number of subjects receiving PLT transfusions (54% in Group 1, 50% in Group 2; p = 0.69) and in the number of PLT transfusions per infant (0.82 ± 1.13 versus 0.8 ± 1.23; p = 0.95). There was also no difference with respect to bleeding, morbidity and mortality between the groups. CONCLUSION: Transfusion according to PLT mass or PLT count-based guideline does not seem to influence number of transfusions or the number of infants who were transfused.