Reports and Findings
Dual RNA-sequencing (dual RNA-seq) holds significant promise for deciphering bacterial virulence mechanisms during systemic infections. However, its application in sepsis research is hindered by technical challenges, including a low bacterial burden in blood and limited sample volumes and RNA yield from vulnerable populations, such as neonates.
Postnatal intensive care for preterm infants born at 22 to 23 weeks' gestation is increasing, although survival rates remain low. Information on outcomes for multiple countries or regions can be important for research, benchmarking, quality improvement, and parental counseling.
Size at birth is a key indicator of in utero growth. Our objective was to generate sex-specific percentiles for birth weight and head circumference in neonates born between 22 and 29 weeks gestation from pregnancies without hypertension or diabetes and assess differences between vaginal and caesarean births and between singletons and twins.
Neonatal sepsis-induced cardiovascular dysfunction includes impaired myocardial function (which may be systolic and/or diastolic) and vasoregulatory failure (which may lead to vasodilation or vasoconstriction). The haemodynamic response in neonatal sepsis may therefore be hyperdynamic or hypodynamic, and the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms are heterogenous.
Infants born before 28 weeks' gestation account for approximately 75% of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Late-onset sepsis (LOS) affects around 25% of these infants and is associated with an increased risk of adverse long-term outcomes. The topical application of coconut oil has been used for centuries in newborn care. Coconut oil is rich in saturated fatty acids, several of which have demonstrated antimicrobial properties. It is considered safe for extremely preterm infants, improves skin condition and may reduce the incidence of LOS.
Preterm infants are commonly treated with antibiotics on admission to the neonatal unit as part of routine care. We aimed to identify infants <32 weeks' gestation at low risk of early-onset sepsis (EOS) in whom antibiotics could be safely withheld.
Antibiotic exposure in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) is high. This study describes antibiotic use in very preterm infants and examines the association between duration of exposure and outcomes in blood culture negative (CN) infants.
The abundant skin commensal, Staphylococcus epidermidis, is the leading cause of late-onset sepsis (LOS) in preterm infants but rarely causes infections in term infants and adults. Staphylococcal virulence mechanisms and the role of the preterm immune responses in driving these life-threatening infections remain poorly understood.
Delayed cord clamping (DCC) is an evidence-based intervention that reduces mortality, anaemia and disability in infants born <37 weeks' gestation who do not require immediate resuscitation. However, it is neither reliably recorded nor routinely implemented in Australia. The Wait a Minute or More study aims to reduce this gap between the evidence and practice by integrating timely sharing of cord clamping data with Evidence-based Practice for Improving Quality methods to increase the proportion of preterm infants receiving DCC for 60s or longer (DCC60).
The physicochemical compatibility of alprostadil injection with secondary intravenous (IV) drugs and 2-in-1 parenteral nutrition (PN) solutions used in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit settings was investigated.