Recommendation for hygiene and topical in neonatology from the French Neonatal Society.

We sought to establish guidelines for hygiene care in newborns based on a systematic review of the literature and grading of evidence using the Groupe de Réflexion et d'Evaluation de l'Environement des Nouveau-nés (GREEN) methodology. We examined 45 articles and 4 reports from safety agencies. These studies recommend a tub bath (rather than a sponge bath) for full-term infants and a swaddle bath for preterm newborns. They also recommend against daily cleansing of preterm infants. The literature emphasized that hygiene care must consider the clinical state of the newborn, including the level of awareness and behavioral responses. Hospitalized newborns treated with topical agents may also experience high exposure to potentially harmful excipients of interest. Caregivers should therefore be aware of the excipients present in the different products they use. In high-resource countries, the available data do not support the use of protective topical agents for preterm infants.Conclusions: We recommend individualization of hygiene care for newborns. There is increasing concern regarding the safety of excipients in topical agents that are used in neonatology. A multidisciplinary approach should be used to identify an approach that requires lower levels of excipients and alternative excipients. What is known: • Hygiene care is one of the most basic and widespread types of care received by healthy and sick newborns worldwide. • There is no current guideline on hygiene for preterm or hospitalized term newborn. What is new: • The French Group of Reflection and Evaluation of the environment of Newborns (GREEN) provided here guidelines based on the current body of evidence. • Caregivers should be aware of the many issues related to hygiene care of newborns including newborns' behavioral responses to hygiene care, exposition to excipients of interest, and the potential risk of protective topical agents in a preterm infant. provided here guidelines based on the current body of evidence. • Caregivers should be aware of the many issues related to hygiene care of newborns including newborns' possible behavioral responses to hygiene care, exposition to excipients of interest and the potential risk of protective topical agents in a preterm infant.

Multiple congenital malformations including generalized hypertrichosis with gum hypertrophy in a child exposed to valproic acid in utero.

Fetal valproate syndrome results from in utero exposure to valproic acid. It is characterized by a distinctive facial appearence, a cluster of minor and major anomalies, and central nervous system dysfunction. We report on a child exposed prenatally to valproic acid with unusual anomalies. This patient was the first child of young parents. Mother had several generalized seizures one year before this pregnancy, and since than she took valproic acid. Pregnancy was otherwise uneventful. At birth physical examination showed generalized hypertrichosis sparing palms and soles, coarse face, gum hypertrophy, hypotonia, club feet and club hands, two annular constrictions of the right lower leg, and abnormal dermatoglyphics. Skeletal X-rays were normal. Gum hypertrophy and hypertrichosis may be part of a broader pattern of altered morphogenesis in fetus exposed to valproic acid or this patient had two conditions, fetal valproate syndrome and hypertrichosis with gum fibromatosis.

[Assessment of a hypothermia protocol implementation for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy in term newborns]. / Évaluation d'un protocole de prise en charge de l'encéphalopathie anoxo-ischémique du nouveau-né par hypothermie.

BACKGROUND: A whole-body hypothermia protocol for term infants with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) was implemented in our network in May 2004. The main objective of this study was to assess the feasibility of the protocol. The impact on the outcome was also assessed. METHODS: Monocentric retrospective study of all term infants admitted for HIE after the implementation of the protocol. The feasibility of the protocol was evaluated by its observance during the first 72 h. The neurodevelopmental outcome at 12 months of age of this population was compared with a historical control group. RESULTS: Twenty-five children were included. The protocol was not correctly applied for 8 children. The target temperature (33-34°C) was not reached for 3 infants. Four infants were admitted after 6h of age. In 1 infant, HIE was not diagnosed at admission. In the 17 patients with a good protocol observance, rectal temperature fell to the target temperature on average at 6.4h of age. The long-term follow-up rate was improved after the implementation of the protocol (100 % versus 92 % before protocol implementation). Death or neurodevelopmental disability occurred in 40 % during the protocol period versus 87 % before protocol implementation (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The main limiting factor for implementation of whole-body hypothermia in infants with HIE is admission delay. The follow-up and the rate of death or disability in infants with HIE improved after implementing the protocol.