Newborn blood gas derangements of children born extremely preterm and neurocognitive dysfunctions at age 10 years.

Among 740 children born extremely preterm, we evaluated the relationship between the highest and lowest quartiles of the distributions of PaO2 and PaCO2, as well as the lowest quartile of pH on one day, and separately on two days, and the risk of neurocognitive, language, and behavioral dysfunctions at age 10 years. Children who had hypoxemia, hyperoxemia, hypocapnia, hypercapnia, and acidemia, sometimes on only one day, and sometimes on two or more days, were more likely than others to have a high illness severity score (within the first 12 postnatal hours), and 10 years later to have multiple dysfunctions. The tendency of blood gas derangements to be associated with high illness severity scores and with multiple dysfunctions 10 years later is compatible with the possibility that blood gas derangements are indicators of physiologic instability/vulnerability/immaturity rather than contributors to brain damage.

Palliative care in neonatal neurology: robust support for infants, families and clinicians.

Infants with neurological injury and their families face unique challenges in the neonatal intensive care unit. As specialty palliative care support becomes increasingly available, we must consider how to intentionally incorporate palliative care principles into the care of infants with neurological injury. Here, we review data regarding neonatal symptom management, prognostic uncertainty, decision making, communication and parental support for neonatal neurology patients and their families.

Major neonatal surgery: psychosocial consequence of the patient and mothers.

PURPOSE: Our previous studies of long-term QOL after major neonatal surgery revealed an unexpectedly high incidence of mental retardation as well as emotional and psychosocial problems, and the patients' QOL correlated with maternal QOL and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The main purpose of this study was to clarify the risk factors affecting long-standing maternal PTSD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty-eight patients, aged between 6 and 17years, and their mothers were enrolled in this study. The underlying diseases included congenital diaphragmatic hernia in 21, anorectal anomalies in 25 and esophageal atresia in 22. Psychoanalysts carried out intelligence tests, the Child Behavior Checklist and QOL evaluation in the patients. QOL was evaluated with WHOQOL26 and PTSD with IES-R questionnaires in their mothers. The mothers were divided into two groups; low- and high-risk groups according to PTSD score. RESULTS: Patient QOL scores correlated positively with maternal QOL (p<0.05) and negatively with maternal PTSD scores (p<0.05). There were significant differences in total number of hospital admissions (p<0.05), feeling of economic burden (p<0.05), and satisfaction with husband's help (p<0.01) between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Risk factors for maternal PTSD include repeated hospitalization, a feeling of economic burden, and lack of satisfaction with husband's help.

Psychosocial and cognitive consequences of major neonatal surgery.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the long-term quality of life (QOL) of patients who had undergone major neonatal surgery, the psychosocial and cognitive consequences of neonatal surgical stress were assessed when the patients reached school age. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seventy-two patients who had undergone major neonatal surgery were enrolled in this study. Their primary diseases were anorectal malformation (ARM) in 27 cases, esophageal atresia (EA) in 23, and congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) in 22. Intelligence tests using Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children III (WISC-III) or a developmental test and the Child Behavior Checklist were conducted through questionnaires and interviews with clinical psychologists. RESULTS: Mental retardation (MR) was apparent in 25% of EA, 20% of ARM, and 18% of CDH, significantly higher than the 2% to 3% commonly found in the general population. The clinical range (CR) of the Child Behavior Checklist was seen in 35% of EA, 59% of ARM, and 38% of CDH, which is also significantly higher than the 25% typically seen in the general population. No significant differences in MR and CR were seen among the primary diseases. The most important factors influencing MR and CR remain to be identified. CONCLUSIONS: To ensure true quality of life after neonatal surgical stress, pediatric surgeons must consider not only physical assessments but also cognitive, emotional, and psychosocial assessments.

[Assessment of pain sensitivity in neonates with surgical pathology].

Definition of pain in newborns with surgical pathology in the traditional way (change the child's behavior, skin color, heart rate, mean arterial pressure, body temperature, blood gas parameters) is subjective. The "Med-Storm" pain stress detector, manufactured by "Med-Storm Innovation AS" (Norway) allows the quantification of pain during and after surgery in infants. For a small sample, specificity was 76%, sensitivity--89%. Important indicator was the peak skin conductance. The change in the area under the curve was less often, but indicated the need of analgesia dose change.

Malformação no bebê e maternidade: aspectos teóricos e clínicos / Baby's malformation and motherhood: theoretical and clinical aspects

Este trabalho apresenta uma revisão de estudos teóricos e clínicos acerca da maternidade no contexto de malformação do bebê. Inicialmente se discute o impacto do diagnóstico no psiquismo materno e na relação mãe-bebê e, num segundo momento, as intervenções psicológicas utilizadas nestas situações. Inquestionavelmente, o diagnóstico de malformação no bebê se revela como sendo uma experiência psíquica bastante complexa e difícil para a mãe, implicando em prejuízos psíquicos para ela e, consequentemente, para a relação mãe-bebê. Ademais, percebe-se que a representação mental que a mãe constrói acerca do bebê pode assumir um papel limitador ou potencializador do desenvolvimento psíquico do bebê. Os estudos destacam o quanto a representação psíquica materna merece ser examinada neste contexto de malformação, visando eventuais intervenções clínicas. A psicoterapia breve pais-bebê tem se mostrado uma técnica eficiente para acessar estas representações e redimensioná-las a favor de um crescimento psíquico mais saudável, tanto da mãe como do bebê. Assim, é importante que a malformação não seja tratada somente nos seus aspectos físicos e funcionais, mas também na sua dimensão psíquica.

This study presents a theoretical and clinical review concerning motherhood in the context of infant malformation. Initially, the impact of the diagnosis on the mother's psyche and on the mother-infant relationship is discussed, as well as psychological interventions geared toward them. Infant malformation diagnosis reveals itself as a quite complex and difficult psychic experience, implying psychic damages for the mother and, consequently, for the mother-infant relationship. Besides, the mother's mental representation concerning the baby can either facilitate or distort the infant's psychic development. Studies highlight the importance of examining maternal psychic representation in the context of malformation for eventual clinical interventions. Brief parent-infant psychotherapy has shown to be an efficient technique to access these representations in favor of a healthier psychic development for both mother and infant. Therefore, it is important that malformation is not only treated in its physical and functional aspects, but also in its psychic dimension.

The dying neonate: family-centered end-of-life care.

There is a need in the NICU for an end-of-life care guideline that nurses can follow when working with dying infants and their families. Maintaining intravenous access to relieve the infant's pain, communicating sensitively to the family, and creating precious, everlasting memories are goals that should be part of every dying infant's care. The nurse's ability to partner with the family in caring for the infant is integral to helping the family take the first steps in their grief journey. Evidence-based literature provides NICU nurses with the knowledge that they are the facilitators of end-of-life care for dying infants. New mothers and fathers are not aware of the caring parental tasks they can perform for their dying baby. They look to and depend on their infant's nurses to encourage them. The guideline included here provides nurses with a tool for ensuring that families have the opportunity to create memories that will not only help them with their immediate pain, but also comfort them for a lifetime.

[Compassionate care for terminally ill term and preterm infants]. / Palliative Versorgung bei Früh- und Reifgeborenen mit sehr ungünstiger Prognose.

Involvement of the family in decisions to withhold or withdraw intensive care and parental involvement in care planning for terminally ill infants does not aggravate or prolong parents' grief responses, their feelings of guilt, or the incidence of pathological grief responses. Effective physical pain and symptom management is critically important. Compassionate care plans, however, need to implement a number of other and equally important components. Parents are not uniform in their perceived needs to make various kinds of contacts with their dying infant. They should be allowed to make their individual choices regarding contact with their baby during that time. The perinatal loss of a twin infant appears to evoke no less serious stress and risks to parents' compared to the loss of a singleton. The disruption of family life during a perinatal loss affects siblings of the baby, and their specific needs should be acknowledged. Post-death or post-autopsy meetings with the family should routinely be scheduled a few weeks after death, and bereavement support should actively be offered. Parents need to be informed about differences to be expected between maternal and paternal grief responses. The risk of pathological grief variants and chronic grief should be mentioned to parents because professional help is required in such occurrence.

Newborn screening for congenital hypothyroidism, Victoria, Australia, 1977-1997. Part 2: Treatment, progress and outcome.

A controlled longitudinal prospective study is reported of physical and neuropsychological progress up to 12 years in 152 children with congenital hypothyroidism (CH), detected by newborn screening in the Australian state of Victoria and born between the onset of screening in mid-1977 and December 1988. Linear growth of the CH children was normal. Throughout they were slightly heavier and the median head circumference was slightly larger compared with reference data. Those with thyroid aplasia required a marginally larger dose of thyroxine to achieve euthyroidism. Assessment of cognitive outcome in the children with permanent primary CH revealed the mean scores at 2, 5 and 8 years to be from 8.5 (p<0.001) to 10.2 (p<0.001) points lower than in a group of 60 euthyroid controls. However, there was large overlap and, of the affected children, only 10.1% at 2 years, 3.9% at 5 years and 6.8% at 8 years fell more than 2 SD below the means of the euthyroid controls. On univariate analysis, variables shown to have significant correlation with cognitive outcome at 8 years in the CH children were newborn activity, baseline TT4 and FTI, initial T4 dosage, socio-economic classification, maternal age, maternal education and presence of a serious accompanying disorder. On multiple regression analysis, significant variables were baseline bone age, maternal age and education, and presence of a serious accompanying disorder. No single thyroidal or extra-thyroidal variable could be identified to account for the discrepancy between the children with CH and the controls.

New clinical observations in hemangiomas.

Much research in endothelial biology is aimed at developing methods to stimulate productive angiogenesis or inhibit unwanted angiogeneseis. Hemangiomas provide a model for endothelial proliferation and involution. This article is intended to update the reader with new information regarding hemangiomas of infancy, the most common tumor of childhood. Topics such as possible origin, management issues, and psychosocial stresses are addressed. This field is constantly changing, but an effort has been made to include most of the recently reported articles. Our hope is that this information will enable physicians caring for patients with hemangiomas to better address the concerns of their patients and families.