Etiology of Apneas and Bradycardeas in Prematurity

Apenea and bradycardias are main concern in premature infants.  Apnea is defined as the cessation of breathing for longer than 20 seconds, or a shorter duration in the presence of pallor, cyanosis, or bradycardia (1). In preterm infants less than 1,500 grams at birth, approximately 70% will have at least one clinically observed episode of symptomatic apnea while in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), and about 20% of these infants will have a specific medical cause. The other 80% of preterm infants with symptomatic apnea do not have a specific medical cause and by exclusion are then diagnosed as having AOP, the most important and prevalent disorder of respiratory control occurring in preterm infants.

How to Administer Surfactant to an Infant with RDS?

Surfactant is the deficient factor in preterm infants which has a major responsibility for respiratory distress syndrome. Exogenous surfactant replacement therapy is the treatment of choice in this setting. There is no clear evidence about the best way to administer surfactant in these patients. I witnessed a successful way to administer it last night when we had a late preterm baby admitted to NICU for suspected respiratory distress syndrome.

The 50 most used terms in NICU

Neonatology is a unique part of pediatrics. It has its own world. I do like it but I hate the stressful job it needs. I rotated 3 months in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit  last year where I was a prelim intern and I started my first categorical month this year there. We deal with limited number of topics in our daily rounds here so that I elected to create a list of them to summarize the common topics pediatrician should know and practice very well to be an expert in neonatology

Insulin and Lactaion

Today, a nurse from nursery called me as a baby's mother ask her if she can breastfed her baby while she's on insulin daily doses. I looked up at LactMed and found the profile of Insulin

No specific information exists on the newer biosynthetic insulins (i.e., aspart, detemir, glargine glulisine, lispro) during breastfeeding. In general, mothers with diabetes using insulin may nurse their infants. No adverse reactions have been reported due to insulin in breastmilk. In fact, insulin in breastmilk may decrease the risk of type 1 diabetes in breastfed infants.[1][2]