CONCLUSION: Exposing preterm infants to either 12 h cyglical lighting or continuously dim environment did not have any significant effect on their weight gain during the neonatal period.
METHODS: A survey was conducted between December 2016 and August 2017 at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur. Parents of preterm infants ≤36 weeks' gestation were invited to answer a self-administered questionnaire to assess their knowledge and practise regarding SIDS risk reduction.
RESULTS: Forty-nine (61.33%) of the 80 parents had heard of SIDS prior to the interview, with social media being the commonest source of information (67.3%). Only 35 (43.7%) correctly answered at least five of nine questions on knowledge of SIDS risk reduction ("good knowledge"). When compared with the group of parents who answered less than five questions correctly ("poor knowledge"), there was no significant difference in the demographic and infant characteristics between the groups. The majority (68.8%) of parents practised bed sharing with their infants, and this was significantly more common in the group of parents with poor knowledge (P = 0.01). Household smoking was also significantly more common in the group of parents with poor knowledge (P = 0.048).
CONCLUSION: Knowledge on SIDS risk reduction measures was generally poor among parents of preterm infants in this study. Cigarette smoking, bed sharing and non-supine sleep positions, which are associated with increased risk of SIDS, were common practise among the present subjects.
METHOD: A prospective cohort study of 31 consecutive newborn infants with UAC-associated aortic thrombi which were detected by abdominal ultrasonography after removal of UAC. Twenty-two infants were treated with intravenous infusion of low dose (1000 U/h) streptokinase, while nine others were not treated due to various contra-indications. Thrombolysis occurred after a mean interval of 2.2 days (standard deviation (SD) = 1.8) in the treated infants. In the untreated infants, spontaneous thrombolysis occurred significantly later, after a mean interval of 16.9 days (SD = 14.7) (95% confidence intervals of difference between mean intervals - 26.0, - 3.4; P = 0.02). Only one treated infant developed mild bleeding directly attributed to streptokinase therapy.
CONCLUSION: Low dose streptokinase infusion was effective and safe in thrombolysing UAC-associated aortic thrombi.
METHODS: The subjects consisted of preterm infants 24-34 weeks' gestation born at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre. Infants were randomly assigned to NeoCap or control groups. Infants in both groups were wrapped in polyethylene sheets from the neck downwards immediately after birth without prior drying. Infants in the control group had their heads dried and subsequently covered with cotton caps while infants in the NeoCap group had polyethylene caps put on without drying. Axillary temperature was measured on admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), and after having been stabilized in the incubator.
RESULTS: Among the 80 infants recruited, admission hypothermia (axillary temperature <36.5°C) was present in 37 (92.5%) and in 40 (100%) in the NeoCap and control groups, respectively. There was no significant difference in mean temperature on NICU admission between the two groups (35.3 vs 35.1°C, P = 0.36). Mean post-stabilization temperature, however, was significantly higher in the NeoCap group (36.0 vs 35.5°C, P = 0.01).
CONCLUSION: Combined use of polyethylene body wrap and polyethylene cap was associated with a significantly higher mean post-stabilization temperature compared with polyethylene body wrap and cotton cap.