The Consensus on Resuscitation Science and Treatment Recommendations indicate the target SpO2 values during the first 10 min of life. There are a few studies of values of brain regional saturation of ...oxygen (rSO2) in newborns, conventional instruments are large and not suitable for measuring in the delivery room. The purpose of this study was to develop reference values for brain rSO2 up to 10 min after birth and to review the changes in cerebral oxygenation in late preterm and term newborn infants immediately after birth.
We evaluated both brain rSO2 and SpO2 at 1, 3, 5 and 10 min after birth in 100 neonates. rSO2, was measured at the forehead using a finger-mounted oximeter. This is 1/100 the size of conventional NIRS and can be carried. To measure SpO2, a Radical-7 was used. This study was approved by the institutional review board at our hospital.
The gestational age and birth weight were 37.9 ± 1.2 weeks and 2825 ± 429 g, respectively. Eighty-seven infants and 13 infants were term and late preterm infants, respectively, and there were 21 vaginal deliveries and 79 cesarean sections. In all cases, rSO2 levels were measured at 1, 3, 5, and 10 min after birth. For the SpO2 measurements, nine cases at 1 min, 40 cases at 3 min, 81 cases at 5 min and 93 cases at 10 min were available. The median rSO2 level was 43% at 1 min after birth, 48% at 3 min, 52% at 5 min and 57% at 10 min.
We used a finger-mounted oximeter to observe changes in brain rSO2 values of 100 normal transition infants. It was easier to detect rSO2 in comparison to the peripheral oxygen saturation monitored by our pulse oximeter. Brain rSO2 values might be useful to evaluate oxygenation immediately after birth.
Therapeutic hypothermia is a standard of care for neonatal encephalopathy; however, approximately one in two newborn infants fails to respond to this treatment. Recent studies have suggested ...potential relationships between body temperature, heart rate and the outcome of cooled infants.
The clinical data of 756 infants registered to the Baby Cooling Registry of Japan between January 2012 and December 2016 were analysed to assess the relationship between body temperature, heart rate and adverse outcomes (death or severe impairment at 18 months corrected age).
A lower body temperature at admission was associated with adverse outcomes in the univariate analysis (P < 0.001), the significance of which was lost when adjusted for the severity of encephalopathy and other covariates. A higher body temperature during cooling and higher heart rate before and during cooling were associated with adverse outcomes in both univariate (all P < 0.001) and multivariate (P = 0.012, P < 0.001 and P < 0.001, respectively) analyses.
Severe hypoxia-ischaemia might be a common causative of faster heart rates before and during cooling and low body temperature before cooling, whereas causal relationships between slightly higher temperatures during cooling and adverse outcomes need to be elucidated in future studies.
In a large cohort of encephalopathic newborn infants, dual roles of body temperature to the outcome were shown; adverse outcomes were associated with a lower body temperature at admission and higher body temperature during cooling. A higher heart rate before and during cooling were associated with adverse outcomes. Severe hypoxia-ischaemia might be a common causative of faster heart rates before and during cooling and low body temperature before cooling. The exact mechanism underlying the relationship between slightly higher body temperature during cooling and adverse outcomes remains unknown, which needs to be elucidated in future studies.
Available data on survival rates and outcomes of extremely low gestational age (GA) infants (22-25 weeks' gestation) display wide variation by country. Whether similar variation is found in ...statements by national professional bodies is unknown. The objectives were to perform a systematic review of management from scientific and professional organizations for delivery room care of extremely low GA infants.
We searched Embase, PubMed, and Google Scholar for management guidelines on perinatal care. Countries were included if rated by the United Nations Development Programme's Human Development Index as "very highly developed." The primary outcome was rating of recommendations from "comfort care" to "active care." Secondary outcomes were specifying country-specific survival and considering potential for 3 biases: limitations of GA assessment; bias from different definitions of stillbirths and live births; and bias from the use of different denominators to calculate survival.
Of 47 highly developed countries, 34 guidelines from 23 countries and 4 international groups were identified. Of these, 3 did not state management recommendations. Of the remaining 31 guidelines, 21 (68%) supported comfort care at 22 weeks' gestation, and 20 (65%) supported active care at 25 weeks' gestation. Between 23 and 24 weeks' gestation, much greater variation was seen. Seventeen guidelines cited national survival rates. Few guidelines discussed potential biases: limitations in GA (n = 17); definition bias (n = 3); and denominator bias (n = 7).
Although there is a wide variation in recommendations (especially between 23 and 24 weeks' GA), there is general agreement for comfort care at 22 weeks' GA and active care at 25 weeks' GA.
The concept of the developmental origins of health and disease is based on studies by Barker et al. They proposed a hypothesis that undernutrition in utero permanently changes the body's structure, ...function, and metabolism in ways that lead to atherosclerosis and insulin resistance in later life. In addition, profound effects on the extent of body fatness and insulin sensitivity are demonstrated, if there is a "mismatch" between prenatal and postnatal environments. In previous studies, undernutrition in utero has been evaluated simply by birth weight itself or birth weight for gestational age, and the degree of mismatch has been estimated by postnatal rapid weight gain. Recently, we investigated subcutaneous fat accumulation in small-for-gestational-age infants and found that a rapid catch-up in skinfold thickness developed prior to the body weight catch-up. Furthermore, insulin-like growth factor-I and lipoprotein lipase mass concentrations also demonstrate rapid increase during the neonatal period with fat accumulation. Investigating the precise mechanisms of developmental origins of health and disease including mediating metabolic and hormonal factors may provide a new approach to prevent atherosclerosis and insulin resistance. Better management of undernutrition during gestation and neonatal growth during the early postnatal period is an important theme for future health.
In July 2007, the Neonatal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (NCPR) program in Japan was launched to ensure that all staff involved in perinatal and neonatal medicine can learn and practice NCPR based on ...the Consensus on Science with Treatment Recommendations developed by the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation. In 1978 in North America, a working group on pediatric resuscitation was formed by the American Heart Association Emergency Cardiac Care Committee and concluded that the resuscitation of newborns required a different strategy than the resuscitation of adults. The original first edition of the Neonatal Resuscitation Program textbook was published in 1987. The NCPR program consists of three courses for health-care providers and two courses for instructors. A course and B course are for newly certified health-care providers and course S is for health-care providers who are renewing their certification. As of 31 March 2019, 3,227 advanced instructors (I instructor) and 1,877 basic instructors (J instructor) were trained to teach A, B, and S courses to health-care providers on the basis of their license. In total 7,075 A courses and 4,012 B courses were held; 131 651 people attended A course or B course of the NCPR program, and 77 367 were certified. A total of 1,865 S courses, which were developed in 2015, were held and 12 875 people attended this course. Here, we introduce the background, purpose, history, and content of the development of the NCPR program in Japan.
Apgar scores of zero at 10 min strongly predict mortality and morbidity in infants. However, recent data reported improved outcomes among infants with Apgar scores of zero at 10 min. We aimed to ...review the mortality rate and neurodevelopmental outcomes of infants with Apgar scores of zero at 10 min in Japan.
Observational study.
Twenty-eight of 768 infants registered in the Baby Cooling Registry of Japan between 2012 and 2016, at >34 weeks' gestation, with Apgar scores of zero at 10 min who were treated with therapeutic hypothermia.
We investigated the time of first heartbeat detection in infants with favourable outcomes and who had neurodevelopmental impairments or died.
Clinical characteristics, mortality rate and neurodevelopmental outcomes at 18-22 months of age were evaluated.
Nine (32%) of the 28 infants died before 18 months of age; 16 (57%) survived, but with severe disabilities and 3 (11%) survived without moderate-to-severe disabilities. At 20 min after birth, 14 of 27 infants (52%) did not have a first heartbeat, 13 of them died or had severe disabilities and one infant, who had the first heartbeat at 20 min, survived without disability.
Our study adds to the recent evidence that neurodevelopmental outcomes among infants with Apgar scores of zero at 10 min may not be uniformly poor. However, in our study, all infants with their first heartbeat after 20 min of age died or had severe disabilities.
Abstract Gray matter develops rapidly during the third trimester of pregnancy, which is a critical period for lipid deposition. We measured brain volume in term and late-preterm infants to determine ...if it is related to disabilities in late-preterm infants. In addition, we measured serum lipid concentrations to investigate the relationship between brain volume and lipid nutrition. Magnetic resonance imaging scans were obtained in 16 late-preterm and 13 term infants. We measured cerebrum, gray matter, and white matter volumes. We performed serum cholesterol, triglyceride (TG), and lipoprotein analyses in cord blood by high-performance liquid chromatography using gel permeation columns to assess lipid nutritional levels. The gray matter volume and percent cerebrum volume of gray matter were significantly smaller in late-preterm infants ( p < 0.001). Head circumference and cerebrum and white matter volume did not differ between the two groups. Gray matter volume correlated positively with gestational age ( r = 0.647, p < 0.001), head circumference ( r = 0.688, p < 0.001), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-TG levels ( r = 0.496, p = 0.006). Late-preterm infants had a normal head circumference and a lower gray matter volume than term infants. Gestational age and head circumference were significantly associated with gray matter volume. Only HDL-TG levels were significantly associated with gray matter volume. HDL-TG might contribute to the transport of fatty acids and gray matter development during the postnatal period. Thus, delayed gray matter development may partly contribute to neurodevelopmental disabilities in late-preterm infants.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread worldwide within a short period, and there is still no sign of an end to the pandemic. Management of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 ...(SARS-CoV-2)-infected pregnant women at the time of delivery presents a unique challenge. To fulfill the goal of providing adequate management of such women and their infants, and to decrease the risk of exposure of the healthcare providers, tentative guidelines are needed until more evidence is collected. Practical preventative action is required that takes into account the following infection routes: (i) aerosol transmission from mothers to healthcare providers, (ii) horizontal transmission to healthcare providers from infants infected by their mothers, and (iii) horizontal transmission from mothers to infants. To develop standard operating procedures, briefings/training simulations should be carried out, taking into account the latest information. Briefings should be carefully conducted to clarify the role and procedures. Healthcare providers should wear personal protective equipment. If it is physically possible, neonatal resuscitation should be performed in a separate area next to the delivery room. If a separate area is not available, the infant warmer should be placed at least 2 m away from the delivery table, or partitioned off in the same room. A minimum number of skilled personnel should participate in resuscitation using the latest neonatal resuscitation algorithms.
The aim of this study was to investigate residual blood volume in the umbilical cord of extremely premature infants.
Twenty extremely premature infants were held at or below the placenta while the ...umbilical cord was clamped and cut at approximately 2-3 cm from the umbilicus within 30 s after birth. The umbilical cord was then clamped near the placenta to obtain a length of approximately 30 cm and cut. The residual blood volume in the segment of cord was drained and measured in milliliters.
Mean birthweight was 846 ± 172 g (range, 587-1180 g). The average length of the clamped segment of umbilical cord was 29.8 ± 1.5 cm (range, 27-32 cm). Total residual blood volume and residual blood volume per cm were 15.5 ± 6.7 mL (range, 6-25 mL) and 0.5 ± 0.2 mL/cm (range, 0.2-0.8 mL/cm), respectively. The residual cord blood volume per kilogram of infant weight per 30 cm was 17.7 ± 5.5 mL/kg/30 cm (range, 8.9-29.0 mL/kg/30 cm).
Infants could receive approximately 18 mL/kg of whole blood by one-time milking of 30 cm umbilical cord. With an average hematocrit of 40%, this volume is equivalent to approximately 13 mL of packed red blood cells (hematocrit 55%).
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