Incidence and Risk Factors of White Matter Lesions in Moderate and Late Preterm Infants.

: Moderate and late preterm infants (32-36 weeks of gestation) are at significant risk of developmental impairments. Incidence of white matter lesions, which are associated with developmental impairments in very preterm infants, remains underreported in this population. This study aimed to assess the incidence and clinical risk factors associated with brain lesions, particularly white matter lesions, in moderate and late preterm infants using term-equivalent MRI.

Body Size, Cerebral Blood Flow, Ambient Temperature, and Relative Brain Temperatures in Newborn Infants under Incubator Care.

Subtle changes in body temperature affect the outcomes of ill newborns. However, the temperature profile of neonatal brains remains largely unknown. In open-cot care, increased cerebral perfusion is correlated with higher superficial brain temperatures.

Control variables of serum ferritin concentrations in hospitalized newborn infants: an observational study.

Both iron excess and deficiency are deleterious to cellular and organ homeostasis. Serum ferritin levels serve as a biomarker of iron storage; however, their distribution and determinants in sick newborn infants remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the reference range and independent variables of serum ferritin in hospitalized newborn infants.

Prolonged requirements for mechanical ventilation and tube feeding support predicted 18-month outcomes for neonatal encephalopathy.

Aim: We evaluated the predictive ability of prolonged requirements for mechanical ventilation or tube feeding support for 18-month composite outcomes in infants with hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy treated with hypothermia.

Methods: This retrospective, nationwide, observational study focused on newborn infants registered in Japan's Baby Cooling Registry between 1 January 2012 and 31 December 2016. The adverse outcomes were defined as death or survival with cerebral palsy, visual or auditory impairment or the requirement for mechanical ventilation or tube feeding at 18 months of age.

Near-infrared light scattering and water diffusion in newborn brains.

Objective: MRI provides useful information regarding brain maturation and injury in newborn infants. However, MRI studies are generally restricted during acute phase, resulting in uncertainty around upstream clinical events responsible for subtle cerebral injuries. Time-resolved near-infrared spectroscopy non-invasively provides the reduced scattering coefficient ( ), which theoretically reflects tissue structural complexity.

Predictive value of the Thompson score for short-term adverse outcomes in neonatal encephalopathy.

Background: To explore the predictive value of the Thompson score during the first 4 days of life for estimating short-term adverse outcomes in neonatal encephalopathy.

Methods: This observational study evaluated infants with neonatal encephalopathy (≥36 weeks of gestation) registered in a multicenter cohort of cooled infants in Japan. The Thompson score was evaluated at 0-24, 24-48, 48-72, and 72-90 h of age.

Postnatal Serum Total Thyroxine Level Associated with Short- and Long-Term Anthropometric Outcomes in Very Preterm Infants.

Thyroxine (T4) importantly regulates the growth of newborns. Compared to fetuses with equivalent gestational ages, very preterm infants (VPIs) often experience relatively low thyroxinemia, with a normal thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) concentration < 10 μIU/mL. However, there is continued debate regarding postnatal thyroxine supplementation for VPIs with normal TSH and transitionally low thyroxinemia.

Three-year outcome following neonatal encephalopathy in a high-survival cohort.

This study investigated the 3-year clinical outcomes in relation to the severity of encephalopathy in high-survival infants who underwent therapeutic hypothermia. This retrospective observational study was conducted in level II/III neonatal intensive care units in Japan. The nationwide cohort included 474 infants registered in the Baby Cooling Registry of Japan between January 2012 and December 2016.

Foetal growth, birth transition, enteral nutrition and brain light scattering.

If the brain structure is assessed at neonatal intensive care units, covert clinical events related with subtle brain injury might be identified. The reduced scattering coefficient of near-infrared light (μ') obtained using time-resolved near-infrared spectroscopy from the forehead of infants is associated with gestational age, body weight and Apgar scores, presumably reflecting subtle changes of the brain related to foetal growth and birth transition. One hundred twenty-eight preterm and term infants were studied to test whether μ' obtained from the head at term-equivalent age is associated with foetal growth, birth transition and nutritional status after birth, which are key independent variables of developmental outcomes.

Airway gas temperature within endotracheal tube can be monitored using rapid response thermometer.

Inappropriate preparation of respiratory gases is associated with serious complications during mechanical ventilation. To develop a temperature monitoring system of respiratory gases within the endotracheal tube, four newborn piglets were studied using an ultra-rapid-response thermometer attached to the closed endotracheal tube suction system. Respiratory gas temperatures were monitored at the mouth-corner level of the endotracheal tube using three thermocouples (T, inserted into the endotracheal tube via the closed suction system; T and T, embedded within the endotracheal tube 0.

Body temperature, heart rate and long-term outcome of cooled infants: an observational study.

Background: 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.

Methods: 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).

Revisions of clinical protocols using the Plan Do Check Act cycle improved outcomes of extremely preterm infants at 2 years.

Aim: Clinical quality improvement is often cumbersome due to established protocols. We aimed to investigate whether outcomes of preterm infants improve with protocol revisions using iteration cycles.

Methods: Preterm infants born <28 weeks gestation between January 2006 and December 2015 were retrospectively analysed.

Peripartum depression and infant care, sleep and growth.

Peripartum depression is a common, serious complication in mothers. To assess the influence of infant care, sleep and growth on the risk of peripartum depression, 1,271 mothers of healthy one-month-old infants completed comprehensive questionnaires including the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Relationships between high depression scores and variables related to infants' care, sleep and growth were assessed adjusting for other variables.

Outcomes related to 10-min Apgar scores of zero in Japan.

Objective: 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.

Visual function scale for identification of infants with low respiratory compliance.

Aim: Precise estimation of respiratory function is essential to optimise neonatal respiratory care. However, current clinical scores have not been validated with quantitative measures of respiratory function. The aim of this study was to develop a physiological scoring system to predict low respiratory dynamic compliance of <0.

Intrauterine growth and the maturation process of adrenal function.

Backgrounds: Environmental factors during early life alter the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis regulation and increase the risk of diseases in later life. However, adrenal function at each developmental stage has not fully been investigated in relation to pathological antenatal conditions. Cortisol levels of newborns with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) are elevated during the neonatal period; however, when studied during early childhood, cortisol levels are reduced compared with their peers, suggesting that the HPA axis regulation might be altered from activation to suppression, the timing of which remains uncertain.

Body Temperature, Heart Rate, and Short-Term Outcome of Cooled Infants.

Therapeutic hypothermia following neonatal encephalopathy is neuroprotective. However, approximately one in two cooled infants still die or develop permanent neurological impairments. Further understanding of variables associated with the effectiveness of cooling is important to improve the therapeutic regimen.

Estimation of elevated intracranial pressure in infants with hydroce-phalus by using transcranial Doppler velocimetry with fontanel compression.

For infants with acute progressive hydrocephalus, invasive drainage of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is performed until a ventriculo-peritoneal shunt can be inserted. Surrogate markers of intracranial pressure (ICP) may help optimise the timing of invasive procedures. To assess whether RI with/without fontanel compression helps distinguish between infants with normal (<5 cmHO), mild (5-11 cmHO), and moderate (>11 cmHO) ICP elevation, 74 ICP measures before/after CSF removal and 148 related Doppler measures of the middle cerebral artery were assessed.

Feeding-Induced Cortisol Response in Newborn Infants.

Context: Understanding the biological rhythms and stress response in sick newborns is important to minimize the negative effects of intensive care. Salivary cortisol has been used as a noninvasive surrogate marker of adrenal function; however, understanding of its control variables is insufficient.

Objective: To investigate the presence of feeding-induced cortisol response and its control variables in newborns.

Insufficient Humidification of Respiratory Gases in Patients Who Are Undergoing Therapeutic Hypothermia at a Paediatric and Adult Intensive Care Unit.

For cooled newborn infants, humidifier settings for normothermic condition provide excessive gas humidity because absolute humidity at saturation is temperature-dependent. To assess humidification of respiratory gases in patients who underwent moderate therapeutic hypothermia at a paediatric/adult intensive care unit, 6 patients were studied over 9 times. Three humidifier settings, 37-default (chamber-outlet, 37°C; Y-piece, 40°C), 33.

Therapeutic hypothermia for neonatal encephalopathy: a report from the first 3 years of the Baby Cooling Registry of Japan.

Therapeutic hypothermia is recommended for moderate and severe neonatal encephalopathy, but is being applied to a wider range of neonates than originally envisaged. To examine the clinical use of therapeutic hypothermia, data collected during the first 3 years (2012-2014) of the Baby Cooling Registry of Japan were analysed. Of 485 cooled neonates, 96.

Physiological and pathological clinical conditions and light scattering in brain.

MRI of preterm infants at term commonly reveals subtle brain lesions such as diffuse white matter injury, which are linked with later cognitive impairments. The timing and mechanism of such injury remains unclear. The reduced scattering coefficient of near-infrared light (μs') has been shown to correlate linearly with gestational age in neonates.