Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy Indicators of Sarnat and Sarnat Scoring in Neonatal Subjects with Perinatal Asphyxia.

Objectives: Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is still a relevant cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity. HIE severity can predict long-term outcomes. Sarnat staging is one of the most common methods used to evaluate HIE severity. However, an ongoing urge exists to find other accurate and affordable ways to accompany this clinical staging for HIE. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between cerebral arteries' resistive indices and other hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy indicators using Sarnat scoring of newborns subjected to perinatal asphyxia. Materials & Methods: In this retrospective study, 76 neonates with gestational age ≥34 weeks affected with HIE were investigated. The patients were categorized into three groups according to Sarnat staging: I, II, and III. Initially, perinatal data were analyzed to assess the correlation between HIE severity and various factors such as gestational age, type of delivery, Apgar scores, necessity for resuscitation, and requirement for respiratory assistance. Notably, these relationships were significant. Results: Examining various symptoms in different HIE stages showed that the incidence of coagulopathy was significantly higher in severe HIE neonates than in mild neonates. Eventually, proposedly, cranial arterial Doppler indices, i.e., the anterior cerebral artery's resistive index (RI), significantly differed between HIE stage groups. Conclusion: This study represented a combination of available and affordable data to achieve early HIE staging, including perinatal data, clinical symptoms, and a bedside Doppler ultrasonography of cerebral perfusion. Higher cranial artery RI was associated with severe HIE and could be considered for therapeutic hypothermia, which may reduce HIE mortality and morbidity.

Comparing the clinical and economic efficiency of four natural surfactants in treating infants with respiratory distress syndrome.

Surfactant therapy has revolutionized the treatment of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) over the past few decades. Relying on a new method, the current research seeks to compare four common surfactants in the health market of Iran to determine the best surfactant according to the selected criteria. The research was a cross-sectional, retrospective study that used the data of 13,169 infants as recorded on the information system of the Iranian Ministry of Health. To rank the surfactants used, the following indicators were measured: re-dosing rate, average direct treatment cost, average length of stay, disease burden, need for invasive mechanical ventilation, survival at discharge, and medical referrals. The CRITIC (criteria importance through intercriteria correlation) method was used to determine the weight of the indicators, and MABAC (multi-attributive border approximation area comparison) was used to prioritize the surfactants. Based on the seven selected indicators in this research (re-dosing rate, average length of stay, direct medical cost per one prescription, medical referral rate, survival at discharge, disability-adjusted life years, number of newborns in need of invasive mechanical ventilation) and using multi-criteria analysis method, Alveofact was identified as the worst surfactant in infants with either more or less than 32 weeks' gestation. So that some criteria were worse in Alveofact group infants than other groups; for example, in the comparison of the Alveofact group with the average of the total population, it was found that the survival rate at discharge was 57.14% versus 66.43%, and the rate of re-dosing was 1.63 versus 1.39. BLES (bovine lipid extract surfactant) was the best alternative for infants more than 32 weeks' gestation, whereas Survanta was identified as best option for infants with less than 32 weeks' gestation. Curosurf showed an average level of functionality in the ranking. This study advises the policy makers in the field of neonatal health to increase the market share of more effective surfactants based on this study and other similar studies. On the other hand, neonatal health care providers are also advised to prioritize the use of more effective surfactants if possible, depending on the clinical conditions and desired improvements.

Teaching medical ethics: problem-based learning or small group discussion?

Lecture is the most common teaching method used in ethics education, while problem-based learning (PBL) and small group discussion (SGD) have been introduced as more useful methods. This study compared these methods in teaching medical ethics. Twenty students (12 female and 8 male) were randomly assigned into two groups. The PBL method was used in one group, and the other group was taught using the SGD method. Twenty-five open-ended questions were used for assessment and at the end of the course, a course evaluation sheet was used to obtain the students' views about the advantages and disadvantages of each teaching method, their level of satisfaction with the course, their interest in attending the sessions, and their opinions regarding the effect of teaching ethics on students' behaviors. The mean score in the PBL group (16.04 ± 1.84) was higher than the SGD group (15.48 ± 2.01). The satisfaction rates in the two groups were 3.00 ± 0.47 and 2.78 ± 0.83 respectively. These differences were not statistically significant. Since the mean score and satisfaction rate in the PBL group were higher than the SGD group, the PBL method is recommended for ethics education whenever possible.