Necessary resources and barriers perceived by professionals in the implementation of the NIDCAP.

BACKGROUND: The implementation of the Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program (NIDCAP) requires a significant effort from all professionals involved. AIM: To determine the necessary requirements and barriers perceived by health professionals in the implementation of the NIDCAP. STUDY DESIGN: A questionnaire covering requirements and obstacles perceived in the implementation of the NIDCAP was developed and validated in two Spanish level III neonatal intensive care units. The questionnaire was answered by 305 health professionals (response rate of 85%). RESULTS: The requirements identified in the questionnaire were considered by most respondents as necessary to implementing the NIDCAP, especially more time, education, and staff. Nurses, compared to doctors, thought that more staff was necessary (93% vs. 74%; p < .01). The main obstacle identified in the survey was lack of coordination among different professionals (77%), followed by noise level in the unit (35%). Doctors, in comparison to nurses, considered noise level (61% vs. 23%; p < .01) and nursing staff (56% vs. 29%; p = .05) the most relevant obstacles to NIDCAP implementation. The more experienced professionals perceived their own colleagues as an obstacle, particularly among nursing staff. CONCLUSIONS: The implementation of the NIDCAP requires a series of conditions that confirm it is not a trivial process but rather a somewhat laborious one. The lack of coordination among different professionals is often considered the main obstacle.

Staff perceptions on Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program (NIDCAP) during its implementation in two Spanish neonatal units.

BACKGROUND: The implementation of the Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program (NIDCAP) requires great effort. Few studies evaluating staff perception of NIDCAP exist, especially in Southern Europe, and these few studies usually have a low representation of the medical staff. AIMS: Exploration of staff perception (neonatologists, nurses and nursing assistants) of NIDCAP during its implementation and their attitude towards it and intention to put it into practice. STUDY DESIGN: This study is a descriptive survey measuring staff perceptions of NIDCAP and its effects on their work in two Spanish neonatal level III intensive care units (NICUs). Validated questionnaires were distributed to neonatologists, nurses and nursing assistants of which 305 were completed (response rate: 85%). RESULT: Virtually all the items which assess the infant's well being and the parents' role received a positive evaluation. However, three items got slightly negative evaluations: NIDCAP was more time consuming and nurses' working conditions and lighting in the unit were less optimal than in earlier practices. The professionals also had a positive attitude and a willingness to use the NIDCAP. Neonatologists perceived NIDCAP more positively than the nursing staff with statistically significant differences. CONCLUSION: The neonatal unit staff in two Spanish NICUs perceived NIDCAP positively. This assessment is more positive for neonatologists than for nurses.

Hipotermia inducida en los recién nacidos con encefalopatía hipóxico-isquémica (EHI). Un nuevo reto asistencial de la neonatología en Cataluña / Induced hypothermia in the newborn with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. A new challenge in neonatal care in Catalonia

Fundamentos. La encefalopatía hipóxico-isquémica (EHI) perinatal en el recién nacido a término o casi a término es una importante causa de morbimortalidad en el periodo neonatal y de discapacidad ulterior en el niño 1-3. Las implicaciones médicas, sociales y legales que asocia la EHI son importantes y condicionan que ésta constituya un problema de salud pública. Durante todo el siglo XX no se ha dispuesto de ninguna aproximación terapéutica específica para prevenir o aminorar el daño cerebral asociado a esta agresión perinatal. Afortunadamente este panorama ha cambiado, ya que en los últimos años ha tenido lugar un importante avance terapéutico específico para la agresión hipóxico-isquémica del SNC: la hipotermia moderada sostenida. Diversos ensayos clínicos han mostrado que la reducción de la temperatura cerebral en 3-4ºC mediante un enfriamiento corporal total o selectivo del cabeza, iniciado antes de las 6 horas de vida y mantenido durante 72 horas, constituye una intervención eficaz para reducir la mortalidad y la discapacidad mayor en los supervivientes 7-9. Resultado. Este documento presenta las demostraciones que han conducido a que la EHI haya dejado de ser una condición huérfana de intervención terapéutica y examina brevemente los nuevos retos asistenciales que plantea(AU)

Background. Perinatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) in the term or near term newborn infant represents a major cause of morbidity and mortality during the neonatal period and subsequent disability in childhood. Medical, social, and legal implications of HIE are important and make this disease a public health problem. During the 20th century, measures aimed at preventing or ameliorating the brain damage associated with this perinatal aggression have been lacking. Fortunately, this situation seems to have changed in recent years with the use of moderate sustained hypothermia. Several clinical trials have shown that a reduction of cerebral temperature by 3-4oC via total body cooling or selective head cooling, initiated within the first 6 hours of life and maintained during 73 hours, is an effective intervention to decrease mortality and major disability among survivors. Result. In this manuscript we review the data that shows how HIE is no longer a disease with no therapeutic options, and we analyze the challenges that this new approach will pose on our healthcare system(AU)

Congenital rubella syndrome, hyper-IgM syndrome and autoimmunity in an 18-year-old girl.

Congenital rubella syndrome can be associated with disgammaglobulinaemia and autoimmune phenomena in adult and paediatric population. The aim of this article is to present the association between a congenital rubella syndrome with hypogammaglobulinaemia and hyper IgM diagnosed at the age of 8 months and autoimmune manifestations in an 18-year-old girl. A medical chart review of this patient since admission at our institution at 8 months of age was carried out. During infancy she presented the classical manifestations of a rubella syndrome (sensorineural deafness and brain calcifications in basal ganglia) with respiratory and gastrointestinal infections. She was also diagnosed of localised scleroderma and thyroiditis. She has been on intravenous immunoglobulin since diagnosis, with rapid normalisation of IgG and IgM levels, decreased incidence of infectious processes, but with persistent autoimmune phenomena. At 18 years of age she was admitted because of a thyroid mass. Fine needle aspiration biopsy was not conclusive and thyroidectomy was performed. Pathology studies showed no malignancy. She is now on replacement therapy with thyroid hormones. Our aim is to emphasise the importance of the association between autoimmune phenomena in patients with immunodeficiencies, even secondary to some infections, and the increased frequency of malignancies owing to the persistent immunologic defect in this syndrome.

Nena de 2 anys amb tumoració en extremitat superior detra i febre / Two year-old girl with a right upper extremity mass and febrile illness

No disponible