Intestinal microbiome and its relationship with necrotizing enterocolitis in very low birth weight preterm infants / 中华儿科杂志

Objective: To explore the composition of intestinal microflora prior to onset of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in very low birth weight preterm infants. Methods: This was a multicenter prospective nested case-control study. A total of 46 very low birth weight preterm infants (birth weight <1 500 g and gestional age <35 weeks) within 24 h of life admitted into Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Children's Hospital of Soochow University and Suzhou Municipal Hospital from April 20 to November 20, 2018 were enrolled. Baseline clinical data and fecal samples of these infants were collected. The subsequent sampling time points were 1st, 4th and 7th day in the first week of life then once per week consecutively. The endpoint of sampling was NEC occurrence, patient discharge or the 8th week post-discharge, whichever came first. Fecal samples were analyzed by 16 S rDNA high-throughput nucleotide sequencing. The control cases were infants without NEC who were matched to the NEC cases with a ratio of 1∶1. The operational taxonomic units (OTU), sequence number and shannon diversity index of the fecal samples were analyzed. Continuous variables were compared with t-test or non-parametric test, and χ2 test or Fisher's exact test was used for categorical variables. Results: There were 23 patients in each group. The gestational age was (29.4±1.8) weeks in NEC group and (29.9±1.6) weeks in control group, including 13 males (57%) and 11 males (48%) in each group, respectively. Species abundance showed that the Firmicutes in both groups decreased temporarily at 7 days of age and then increased with age in control group, but not in NEC group, the Proteobacteria in both groups increased at 7 days of age and then decreased in control group, but kept increasing in NEC group. Regarding the other levels of taxonomy, compared with that of the control group, the NEC group had lower abundance of Proteobacteria, γ-proteobacteria and Enterobacteriaceae at 7 days of age, while higer abundance of Faecalibacterium at 14 days of age, meanwhile, lower Clostridium and Streptococcus at 21 days of age, lower Firmicutes, Clostridia and Clostridium perfringens and higher Proteobacteria and γ-proteobacteria at 28 days of age, these differences were all statistically significant (U=43.00, 43.00, 45.00, 80.00, 74.00, 76.00, 19.00, 8.00, 36.00, 25.00, 25.00,all P<0.05). The shannon index of NEC group was both lower than that of the controls at 21 days of age (2.4 (1.4, 3.0) vs. 3.1 (2.6, 4.0), U=67.00, P=0.027) and 28 days of age (2.4 (1.4, 2.8) vs. 3.9 (3.3, 4.2), U=12.00, P=0.001). Conclusions: The intestinal microflora profile of very low birth weight preterm infants has already changed prior to NEC development. The emergence of differential flora and the reduction of microflora diversity may facilitate early identification and prevention of NEC.

Clinical effect of different maintenance doses of caffeine citrate in the treatment of preterm infants requiring assisted ventilation: a pilot multicenter study / 中国当代儿科杂志

OBJECTIVES@#To explore the optimal maintenance dose of caffeine citrate for preterm infants requiring assisted ventilation and caffeine citrate treatment.@*METHODS@#A retrospective analysis was performed on the medical data of 566 preterm infants (gestational age ≤34 weeks) who were treated and required assisted ventilation and caffeine citrate treatment in the neonatal intensive care unit of 30 tertiary hospitals in Jiangsu Province of China between January 1 and December 31, 2019. The 405 preterm infants receiving high-dose (10 mg/kg per day) caffeine citrate after a loading dose of 20 mg/kg within 24 hours after birth were enrolled as the high-dose group. The 161 preterm infants receiving low-dose (5 mg/kg per day) caffeine citrate were enrolled as the low-dose group.@*RESULTS@#Compared with the low-dose group, the high-dose group had significant reductions in the need for high-concentration oxygen during assisted ventilation (P=0.044), the duration of oxygen inhalation after weaning from noninvasive ventilation (P<0.01), total oxygen inhalation time during hospitalization (P<0.01), the proportion of preterm infants requiring noninvasive ventilation again (P<0.01), the rate of use of pulmonary surfactant and budesonide (P<0.05), and the incidence rates of apnea and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (P<0.01), but the high-dose group had a significantly increased incidence rate of feeding intolerance (P=0.032). There were no significant differences between the two groups in the body weight change, the incidence rates of retinopathy of prematurity, intraventricular hemorrhage or necrotizing enterocolitis, the mortality rate, and the duration of caffeine use (P>0.05).@*CONCLUSIONS@#This pilot multicenter study shows that the high maintenance dose (10 mg/kg per day) is generally beneficial to preterm infants in China and does not increase the incidence rate of common adverse reactions. For the risk of feeding intolerance, further research is needed to eliminate the interference of confounding factors as far as possible.

Incidence of extrauterine growth retardation and its risk factors in very preterm infants during hospitalization: a multicenter prospective study / 中国当代儿科杂志

OBJECTIVES@#To investigate the incidence of extrauterine growth retardation (EUGR) and its risk factors in very preterm infants (VPIs) during hospitalization in China.@*METHODS@#A prospective multicenter study was performed on the medical data of 2 514 VPIs who were hospitalized in the department of neonatology in 28 hospitals from 7 areas of China between September 2019 and December 2020. According to the presence or absence of EUGR based on the evaluation of body weight at the corrected gestational age of 36 weeks or at discharge, the VPIs were classified to two groups: EUGR group (n=1 189) and non-EUGR (n=1 325). The clinical features were compared between the two groups, and the incidence of EUGR and risk factors for EUGR were examined.@*RESULTS@#The incidence of EUGR was 47.30% (1 189/2 514) evaluated by weight. The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that higher weight growth velocity after regaining birth weight and higher cumulative calorie intake during the first week of hospitalization were protective factors against EUGR (P<0.05), while small-for-gestational-age birth, prolonged time to the initiation of total enteral feeding, prolonged cumulative fasting time, lower breast milk intake before starting human milk fortifiers, prolonged time to the initiation of full fortified feeding, and moderate-to-severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia were risk factors for EUGR (P<0.05).@*CONCLUSIONS@#It is crucial to reduce the incidence of EUGR by achieving total enteral feeding as early as possible, strengthening breastfeeding, increasing calorie intake in the first week after birth, improving the velocity of weight gain, and preventing moderate-severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia in VPIs.

Application of umbilical venous catheter combined with peripherally inserted central catheter in very low birth weight infants / 中国当代儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the application of umbilical venous catheter (UVC) combined with peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) in very low birth weight infants (VLBWIs).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A retrospective analysis was performed on the VLBWIs in the neonatal intensive care unit who received UVC combined with PICC (catheter group, n=63) or did not receive the catheter treatment (non-catheter group, n=38) to compare the differences in nosocomial infection, weight gain, and length of hospital stay between the two groups.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The rate of nosocomial infection was 17% in the catheter group and 24% in the non-catheter group (P>0.05). Compared with the non-catheter group, the catheter group had a significantly higher weight gain (11.7±2.0 g/kg•d vs 10.6±2.3 g/kg•d; P<0.05) and a significantly shorter length of hospital stay (40±11 days vs 45±14 days; P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of complications between the two groups.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Compared with those not receiving catheter treatment, the VLBWIs receiving UVC combined with PICC have a markedly higher weight gain and a markedly shorter length of hospital stay and show a declining trend in the rate of nosocomial infection.</p>

SLC26A4 mutations in a Chinese deafness family discovered by next-generation sequencing technology / 中华耳鼻咽喉头颈外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To identify the molecular etiopathogenesis for a non-syndromic hearing loss patient.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The core family, consists of the patient and his parents, was recruited. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood. Mutation analysis was carried out by SNaPshot and next-generation sequencing technology. Mutations in SLC26A4 gene were verified by polymerase chain reaction and direct sequencing.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compound heterozygous mutations p.V306GfsX24 and p.P516PfsX11 in SLC26A4 gene were detected in the patient, heterozygous mutation p.V306GfsX24 was detected in the father, heterozygous mutation p.P516PfsX11 was detected in the mother.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Compound heterozygous mutations p.V306GfsX24 and p.P516PfsX11 contributed to patient's hearing loss. Next-generation sequencing technology is a useful tool for detecting de novo mutations of deafness genes, and is suitable for clinical application.</p>

Current status of neonatal acute respiratory disorders: a one-year prospective survey from a Chinese neonatal network / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>We conducted a prospective, multicenter investigation of incidence, management and outcome of neonatal acute respiratory disorders (NARD), and evaluated related perinatal risk factors and efficacy of respiratory therapies in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in a Chinese neonatal network.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Data were prospectively collected in 2004 - 2005 from infants with NARD defined as presence of respiratory distress and oxygen requirement during the first 3 days of life.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A total of 2677 NARD was classified (20.5% of NICU admissions). There were 711 (5.44%) with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), 589 (4.51%) pulmonary infection, 409 (3.13%) meconium aspiration syndrome, 658 (5.03%) aspiration of amniotic fluid and 239 (1.83%) transient tachypnoea. Meconium aspiration syndrome had the highest rate with fetal distress, transient tachypnoea from cesarean section, and RDS with maternal disorders. Assisted mechanical ventilation was applied in 53.4% of NARD, and in above five disorders with 84.7%, 52.3%, 39.8%, 24.5%, and 53.6%, respectively. Corresponding mortality in these disorders was 31.4%, 13.6%, 17.8%, 4.1% and 5.0%, respectively. Surfactant was provided to 33.9% of RDS. In all RDS infants, the survival rate was 78.8% if receiving surfactant, and 63.4% if not (P < 0.001).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>This study provided NICU admission-based incidence and mortality of NARD, reflecting efficiency of advanced respiratory therapies, which should be a reference for current development of respiratory support in NICU at provincial and sub-provincial levels, justifying efforts in upgrading standard of care in emerging regions through a collaborative manner.</p>