High Effectiveness of Midazolam and Lidocaine in the Treatment of Acute Neonatal Seizures.

PURPOSE: To assess the clinical effectiveness of treating acute seizures with midazolam and lidocaine infusion. METHODS: This single-center historical cohort study included 39 term neonates with electrographic seizures who underwent treatment with midazolam (1st line) and lidocaine (2nd line). Therapeutic response was measured using continuous video-EEG monitoring. The EEG measurements included total seizure burden (minutes), maximum ictal fraction (minutes/hour), and EEG-background (normal/slightly abnormal vs. abnormal). Treatment response was considered good (seizure control with midazolam infusion), intermediate (need to add lidocaine to the control), or no response. Using clinical assessments supplemented by BSID-III and/or ASQ-3 at 2 to 9 years old age, neurodevelopment was classified as normal, borderline, or abnormal. RESULTS: A good therapeutic response was obtained in 24 neonates, an intermediate response in 15, and no response in any of the neonates. Babies with good response showed lower values in maximum ictal fraction compared with those with intermediate response (95% CI: 5.85-8.64 vs. 9.14-19.14, P = 0.002). Neurodevelopment was considered normal in 24 children, borderline in five, and abnormal in other 10 children. Abnormal neurodevelopment was significantly associated with an abnormal EEG background, maximum ictal fraction >11 minutes, and total seizure burden >25 minutes (odds ratio 95% CI: 4.74-1708.52, P = 0.003; 1.72-200, P = 0.016; 1.72-142.86, P = 0.026, respectively) but not with the therapeutic response. Serious adverse effects were not recorded. CONCLUSIONS: This retrospective study suggests that the midazolam/lidocaine association could potentially be efficacious in decreasing seizure burden in term neonates with acute seizures. These results would justify testing the midazolam/lidocaine combination as a first-line treatment for neonatal seizures in future clinical trials.

Evaluation of Adverse Effects in Nursing Mothers and Their Infants After COVID-19 mRNA Vaccination.

Background and Objectives: Breastfeeding women are generally excluded from clinical trials with new vaccines. The objective of the study was to explore whether the BNT162b2 mRNA and mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccines are safe for breastfeeding mothers and their breastfed infants. Methods: A convenience sample prospective cohort single institution study was performed on breastfeeding health care professionals, who were exposed to second dose of SARS-CoV2 vaccine at the beginning of the study period. They and their breastfed children's symptoms were followed up through online questionnaires for 14 days. Results: Of the 95 finally included participants, only 1 was lost to follow-up on day 7. Mean age of the mothers was 35.9 ± 3.9 years and that of their infants was 14.6 ± 12.1 months. At least one adverse event was reported by 85% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 76-91.5%) of the mothers. The most frequent was injection site pain in 81% of cases. Moreover, 31% (95% CI: 22-41%) observed some event in their breastfed children. Most frequently, 19% (95% CI: 13-30%) of the children were irritable. During the 14 days of follow-up, 36% of the children (95% CI: 27-46%) were diagnosed with respiratory infection. Conclusions: Most mothers' reactions were mild and transitory, generally limited to the first 3 days after vaccination. Many children's events were associated with concomitant infectious processes and we did not detect a notable peak on any particular day of follow-up. Neither mothers nor their infants developed serious adverse events nor were they diagnosed with COVID-19 within the study period.

SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in Breast Milk After Vaccination.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Passive and active immunity transfer through human milk (HM) constitutes a key element in the infant's developing immunity. Certain infectious diseases and vaccines have been described to induce changes in the immune components of HM. METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort single-institution study from February 2 to April 4, 2021. Women who reported to be breastfeeding at the time of their coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination were invited to participate. Blood and milk samples were collected on day 14 after their second dose of the vaccine. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies against nucleocapsid protein as well as IgG, immunoglobulin M and immunoglobulin A (IgA) antibodies against the spike 1 protein receptor-binding domain against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (anti-SARS-CoV-2 RBD-S1) were analyzed in both serum and HM samples. RESULTS: Most of the participants (ie, 94%) received the BNT162b2 messenger RNA COVID-19 vaccine. The mean serum concentration of anti-SARS-CoV-2 RBD-S-IgG antibodies in vaccinated individuals was 3379.6 ± 1639.5 binding antibody units per mL. All vaccinated study participants had anti-SARS-CoV-2 RBD-S1-IgG, and 89% of them had anti-SARS-CoV-2 RBD-S-IgA in their milk. The antibody concentrations in the milk of mothers who were breastfeeding 24 months were significantly higher than in mothers with breastfeeding periods <24 months (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: We found a clear association between COVID-19 vaccination and specific immunoglobulin concentrations in HM. This effect was more pronounced when lactation periods exceeded 23 months. The influence of the lactation period on immunoglobulins was specific and independent of other variables.

Assessment of neonatal EEG background and neurodevelopment in full-term small for their gestational age infants.

BACKGROUND: Delayed brain function development in small-gestational-age (SGA) infants has been reported. We aimed to quantify rates of immature neonatal EEG patterns and their association with neurodevelopment in SGA full-term neonates. METHODS: Using a cohort design, 50 SGA (birthweight <10th percentile) and 44 appropriate-gestational-age (AGA) term neonates underwent continuous video-EEG recordings lasting >3 h. Seventy-three of them were assessed at 2-years-old using Bayley-III-Scales. For EEG analysis, several segments of discontinuous/alternating EEG tracings were selected. MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURED: (1) Visual analysis (patterns of EEG maturity); (2) Power spectrum in δ, θ, α and ß frequency bands; and (3) scores in motor, cognitive and language development. RESULTS: (1) SGA infants, compared to AGA, showed: (a) higher percentages of discontinuous EEG, both asynchrony and interhemispheric asymmetry, and bursts with delta-brushes, longer interburst-interval duration and more transients/hour; (b) lower relative power spectrum in δ and higher in α; and (c) lower scores on motor, language and cognitive neurodevelopment. (2) Asymmetry >5%, interburst-interval >5 s, discontinuity >11%, and bursts with delta-brushes >11% were associated with lower scores on Bayley-III. CONCLUSIONS: In this prospective study, SGA full-term neonates showed high rates of immature EEG patterns. Low-birthweight and immaturity EEG were both correlated with low development scores.

Visual and Quantitative Electroencephalographic Analysis in Healthy Term Neonates Within the First Six Hours and the Third Day of Life.

BACKGROUND: What constitutes a "normal" background electroencephalography (EEG) rhythm immediately after birth is not well understood. We performed video-electroencephalography recordings in the first six hours (first measure) and the third day of life (second measure) for evidence of transient changes in brain function. METHODS: We performed a cohort study of an incidental sample of healthy term neonates in a single-center nursery. Main outcome measures were as follows: (1) EEG visual analysis, which included sleep-wake cycles, proportions of discontinuity and bursts with delta brushes, and number per hour of alpha/theta rolandic activity, encoches frontales, and transients; and (2) the electroencephalographic spectral analysis, which included power spectrum in the following frequency bands: delta, 0.5 to 4 Hz; theta, 4 to 8 Hz; alpha, 8 to 13 Hz; and beta, 13 to 30 Hz. Theta/delta and alpha/delta ratios were also calculated. RESULTS: Twenty-two babies were enrolled. Significant findings (P < 0.05) in the first six hours with respect to 48 to 72 hours of life were (1) increased discontinuity, indeterminate sleep, and bursts with delta brushes; (2) higher number of transients, and lower number of alpha/theta rolandic activity and encoches frontales. Minimal changes were found in power spectrum data. However, using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, theta/delta ratio ≤0.484 was the best cutoff to discriminate between the two measures (positive predictive value, 100.0; 95% confidence interval 71.0 to 100). CONCLUSIONS: In healthy term neonates, immature electroencephalographic patterns, lack of clearly defined sleep-wake cycles, and frequent transients can be considered normal electroencephalographic findings in the first six hours of life. Normative power spectrum data are provided. These findings suggest that neonatal adaptation immediately after birth leads to transient changes in brain function.

Decreased concentrating capacity in children with febrile urinary tract infection and normal 99mTc-dimercaptosuccinic acid scan: does medullonephritis exist?

BACKGROUND: Although 99mTc-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) scan is considered the gold standard for the diagnosis of acute pyelonephritis (AP), sometimes it produces false results in children with clinical features of AP. There are no studies on the comparison of the sensitivity of DMSA and concentrating capacity test. METHODS: Eighty-five infants with AP of less than one year old were studied to evaluate whether they had real AP or not. Data were compared between infants with an abnormal (group A, n=64) and those with a normal DMSA scan (group B, n=21) respectively. A DDAVP test was performed for each infant. RESULTS: All the infants in both groups presented a high level of C-reactive protein and fever (≥38°C). There were no differences in clinical and analytical variables except C-reactive protein level in the two groups. Both groups exhibited a low urinary osmolality (87.5% in the group A vs. 85.7% in the group B). The patients with normal DMSA and decreased concentrating capacity have some renal parenchymal damage and not only a lower urinary infection. Of the infants with an abnormal DMSA scan, 33.9% showed renal scars after 6-12 months. No infant with a normal DMSA scan showed scars. The biochemical variables in both groups of infants were not related to vesicoureteral refl ux. CONCLUSION: Infants with AP, normal DMSA scan and low concentrating capacity may be characterized by a localized infection in the medulla (medullonephritis) or by a false negative DMSA scan.