Effect of Massage on treatment of preterm feeding intolerance: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

AIM: To evaluate the effectiveness of massage on treating feeding intolerance (FI). DESIGN: A randomized, controlled, prospective clinical trial. METHODS: A total of 104 preterm infants whose gestational age between 28 and 34 weeks and birth weight between 1000 and 2000 g with diagnosis of FI were recruited. Participants were stratified by birth weight (1000-1499 g or 1500-2000 g) and randomized to either the intervention group, who will receive 7 days of massage, or the control group. The primary outcome is the time to reach full enteral nutrition. Secondary outcomes include duration of FI, change of body index, length of hospitalization, change of gastric residual volume, abdomen circumference and defecation measurement before and after 7 days of intervention. RESULTS: Results of this study, which includes index on FI and physical development, have the potential to provide evidence that massage will alleviate symptoms of FI, and contribute to the long-term positive outcome of preterm infants.

Risk factors of brain abscess in neonatal meningitis: a propensity score-matched study.

Brain abscess is a rare but life-threatening complication of meningitis. The purpose of this study was to identify clinical features and potentially relevant factors of brain abscess in neonates with meningitis. This study was a propensity score-matched case-control study of neonates with brain abscess and meningitis in a tertiary pediatric hospital between January 2010 and December 2020. A total of 16 neonates with brain abscess were matched to 64 patients with meningitis. Demography, clinical characteristics, laboratory results, and pathogens were collected. Conditional logistic regression analyses were performed to identify the independent risk factors associated with brain abscess. The most common pathogen we found in the brain abscess group was Escherichia coli. Risk factors of brain abscess were identified: multidrug-resistant bacterial infection (OR, 11.204; 95% CI, 2.315-54.234; p = 0.003), C-reactive protein (CRP) > 50 mg/L (OR, 11.652; 95% CI, 1.799-75.470; p = 0.010).  Conclusion: The risk factors of brain abscess are multidrug-resistant bacterial infection and CRP > 50 mg/L. Monitoring the level of CRP is essential. Bacteriological culture and rational use of antibiotics are necessary for the prevention of MDR bacterial infection as well as the occurrence of brain abscess. What is Known: • Morbidity and mortality of neonatal meningitis have declined, but brain abscess associated with neonatal meningitis is still life-threatening. What is New: • This study investigated relevant factors related to brain abscess. • It is important for neonatologists to perform prevention, early identification, and appropriate interventions for neonates with meningitis.

Differences in the Gut Microbiota Composition and Metabolites Associated With Feeding Intolerance in VLBW Infants With a Gestational Age of ≤ 30 Weeks: A Pilot Study.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the main variations in gut microbiota compositions, short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) concentrations and autoinducer-2 (AI-2) levels in very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) infants with feeding intolerance (FI). METHODS: Twenty-seven VLBW infants with gestational ages of ≤30 weeks were divided into the FI group (n=14) and feeding tolerance (FT) group (n=13). The gut microbiota composition and SCFAs concentrations and AI-2 levels in feces were detected at 2 and 4 weeks after birth. RESULTS: There was no difference in alpha diversity between the two groups at 2 and 4 weeks after birth (P>0.05). Although the Chao index decreased (P<0.05), there was no difference in the Shannon index from 2 weeks to 4 weeks in either the FI or FT group (P>0.05). Additionally, there was no difference in beta diversity between the FI and FT groups at 2 weeks (P>0.05), but there was a significant difference in beta diversity between the two groups at 4 weeks (P<0.05) and a large difference from 2 weeks to 4 weeks in both the FI and FT groups (P<0.05). Furthermore, the composition of the microbiota at 4 weeks was significantly different from that at 2 weeks in the FI group (P<0.05). The Veillonella abundance was lower at 4 weeks in the FI group (P<0.05), but there were no differences in the compositions of the other main microbes between the two groups (P>0.05). Proteobacteria and Firmicutes were dominant in both the FI and FT groups. The concentrations of propanoic, valeric and hexanoic acids were lower in the FI group at 2 weeks, and the levels of isobutyric and valeric acids were lower at 4 weeks after birth (P<0.05). The areas under the curves (AUCs) of propanoic, butanoic and valeric acids in predicting FI were 0.878, 0.816 and 0.744, respectively. Compared with that in the FT group, the relative bioluminescence of AI-2 was lower in the FI group at 2 weeks (P<0.05), and the AUC was 0.736. CONCLUSIONS: The main composition of the microbiota was not obviously different in infants with FI. Some SCFAs and AI-2 have moderate value in predicting FI.

Systematic review and meta-analysis: the effect and safety of peritoneal dialysis in patients with end-stage diabetic kidney disease.

BACKGROUND: At present, peritoneal dialysis (PD) is widely used in the clinical treatment of patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), and comparison of the efficacy of PD and hemodialysis (HD) in the treatment of diabetic kidney disease (DKD) has been reported in a few clinical studies. METHODS: In this study, "dialysis", "peritoneal dialysis", "renal replacement therapy", "end-stage renal disease", "diabetic renal disease", and "efficacy and safety" were used as search terms in Chinese and English databases. According to RevMan 5.3 and Stata 13 software provided by the Cochrane Collaboration, a meta-analysis was performed. RESULTS: Four randomized controlled trials were included in this study, and 3 trials described the randomization method, 3 described allocation concealment in detail, and 2 used the blinding method. Compared with the HD treatment in the control group, the PD treatment in the experimental group can significantly reduce the hemoglobin of patients with end-stage DKD [Mean difference (MD) =-0.13, 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.21 to -0.04; P=0.003<0.05] and Albumin level (MD = -0.10, 95% CI: -0.16 to -0.04; P=0.002<0.05). Compared with the control group, the PD treatment in the experimental group significantly increased the serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen levels in patients with end-stage DKD, but there was no significant difference in the effects of PD and HD treatment on serum creatinine levels (MD =-0.30, 95% CI: -0.77 to 0.16; P=0.20>0.05), (MD =1.93, 95% CI: -2.65 to 6.51; P=-0.41>0.05). In addition, PD treatment in the experimental group significantly increased the probability of malignant tumors in patients with end-stage DKD [odds ratio (OR) =1.86, 95% CI: 1.64 to 2.10; P<0.00001], and the difference was significant. DISCUSSIONS: This study used meta-analysis to confirm that PD can significantly improve the renal function of patients with end-stage DKD, but it can also increase the probability of protein loss and complications.

Effect of internet-based self-management on pulmonary function rehabilitation and living quality in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

OBJECTIVE: This study explored and analyzed the effect of Internet-based self-management on pulmonary function rehabilitation and living quality in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). METHODS: Altogether, 106 stable-staged COPD patients admitted to our hospital from June 2018 to September 2019 were enrolled as the research subjects, and divided into the control group (n=51) and the observation group (n=55) according to the order of visit. The control group received conventional health education, and the observation group was treated with an educational model by Internet-based self-management. Afterwards, the changes of self-management ability, pulmonary function and living quality before and after intervention were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The scores of each dimension of self-management behavior in both groups of patients after intervention were critically higher than those prior to intervention (P<0.05), and the scores in observation-group patients were remarkably higher than thoes in control-group patients (P<0.05). Besides, the two groups of subjects were observed with elevated pulmonary function indexes FVC, FEV1 and 6MWD after intervention compared with that in prior-intervention (P<0.05), and the indexes in the observation-group after intervention were obviously higher than those in the control-group (P<0.05). In addition, the scores of each dimension of living quality in both groups after the intervention had a conspicuously rise compared with the prior-intervention period (P<0.05), and the scores in the observation group were remarkably lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). The satisfaction in observation group was obviously higher than that in control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Internet-based self-management can effectually improve the self-management ability of COPD patients. It is conducive to improve the patients' pulmonary function, and their living quality, thus it is worthy of clinical popularization and application.