Congenital Parvovirus B19 During the 2024 European Resurgence: A Prospective Single-Centre Cohort Study.

Parvovirus B19 (B19V) re-emerged across Europe in 2024, raising concerns about vertical transmission and neonatal morbidity. We undertook a prospective, single-centre cohort study to characterise the early clinical course of congenitally infected neonates born between April and December 2024. Seventy-one pregnancies with serologically or PCR-confirmed maternal infection were enrolled; seven neonates met laboratory criteria for congenital B19V infection and were followed with serial clinical, biochemical and imaging assessments through the first year of life.

Congenital toxoplasmosis: an observational retrospective study in the Eastern Sicily.

Introduction: () primary infection during pregnancy can lead to severe consequences in the fetus and newborn, including miscarriage, congenital disease, or neuro-ophthalmological complications.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the incidence of congenital toxoplasmosis (CT) in a cohort of newborns and assess their neurological, ophthalmological, and auditory sequelae. Additionally, we examined correlations between infection rates, gestational age at maternal seroconversion, prenatal treatment, and postnatal outcomes.

Microbiota-Modulating Strategies in Neonates Undergoing Surgery for Congenital Gastrointestinal Conditions: A Narrative Review.

The gut microbiota (GM) is pivotal for immune regulation, metabolism, and neurodevelopment. Infants undergoing surgery for congenital gastrointestinal anomalies are especially prone to microbial imbalances, with a paucity of beneficial bacteria (e.g.

The Critical Role of Vitamin D Supplementation for Skeletal and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Preterm Neonates.

Metabolic bone disease of prematurity (MBDP) is a multifactorial disorder resulting from disrupted transplacental mineral transfer and postnatal nutritional deficits, particularly affecting preterm neonates born before 32 weeks of gestation or weighing under 1500 g. Although substantial research has focused on skeletal outcomes, few studies have explored the association between MBDP and neonatal neurological impairment. This narrative review is the first to integrate the pathophysiological mechanisms, diagnostic methods, and preventive strategies for MBDP, while simultaneously investigating its potential impact on neurodevelopment.

Rotavirus Vaccine Administration in Preterm and Medically Fragile Infants Admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Units: Second Phase Enrollments and Final Results of a Multicenter Observational Study Conducted in Sicily, Italy.

Unlabelled: Rotavirus disease is the world's leading cause of severe gastroenteritis and mortality in children up to 5 years of age. Premature infants are more vulnerable to rotavirus gastroenteritis (RVGE) and its complications. International authorities strongly recommend vaccination because of the consistent reduction in infections, hospitalizations, deaths, and related costs.

Clinical predictors for surfactant retreatment in preterm infants with respiratory distress syndrome: the results of a pooled analysis.

Background: The issue of retreatment with surfactant of infants with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) has been poorly investigated. Our aim was to identify possible clinical predictors of the need for multiple doses of surfactant in a large cohort of very preterm infants.

Methods: Data were analyzed from three previous studies on infants born between 25 and 31 weeks of gestation with RDS who were treated with surfactant.

Lung Recruitment Before Surfactant Administration in Extremely Preterm Neonates: 2-Year Follow-Up of a Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: A multicenter randomized clinical trial (RCT) showed a lung recruitment maneuver using high-frequency oscillatory ventilation just before surfactant administration (ie, intubate-recruit-surfactant-extubate [IN-REC-SUR-E]) improved the efficacy of treatment compared with the standard intubate-surfactant-extubate (IN-SUR-E) technique without increasing the risk of adverse neonatal outcomes.

Objective: To examine follow-up outcomes at corrected postnatal age (cPNA) 2 years of preterm infants previously enrolled in an RCT and treated with IN-REC-SUR-E or IN-SUR-E in 35 tertiary neonatal intensive care units.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This was a follow-up study of infants recruited into the primary RCT from 2015 to 2018 at 35 tertiary neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in Italy.

Risk factors in the development of retinopathy of prematurity: A 10-year retrospective study.

Objective: To evaluate Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) rate and risk factors in a large cohort of preterm newborns.

Methods: Single center retrospective study. All preterm inborn hospitalized at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the Policlinico of Catania from January 1, 2009 till December 31, 2018, were included.

Decreased incidence of late-onset sepsis during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Italy: a multicentric study on a cohort of infants requiring major surgery.

Unlabelled: Changes in the organization of the clinical care wards, requested by the SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) pandemic, have influenced the environmental circulation of other pathogens. The implementation of prevention procedures may have led to a decrease in the incidence of healthcare-associated infections. We aimed to investigate the impact of prevention and control measures for preventing the COVID-19 spread on the incidence of bacterial sepsis and invasive fungal infections in neonates and infants requiring major surgery.

Safety of Rotavirus Vaccination in Preterm Infants Admitted in Neonatal Intensive Care Units in Sicily, Italy: A Multicenter Observational Study.

Rotavirus (RV) is among the most common vaccine-preventable diseases in children under five years of age. Despite the severity of rotavirus pathology in early childhood, rotavirus vaccination for children admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), who are often born preterm and with various previous illnesses, is not performed. This multicenter, 3-year project aims to evaluate the safety of RV vaccine administration within the six main neonatal intensive care units of the Sicilian Region to preterm infants.

Short Efficacy Evaluation of External Ventricular Drains Versus Ventriculosubgaleal Shunt in the Management of Neonatal Posthemorrhagic Hydrocephalus: A Retrospective Single-Center Cohort Study.

Background: Different temporizing neurosurgical procedures are available for the management of posthemorrhagic hydrocephalus in preterm newborns.

Objective: To evaluate the short efficacy of the external ventricular drains (EVDs) and the ventriculosubgaleal (VSG) shunt.

Methods: This is a Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology-conformed retrospective cohort study.

Invasive Infections in Neonates after Major Surgery: Current Evidence and New Directions.

Infections represent a serious health problem in neonates. Invasive infections (ICIs) are still a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Infants hospitalized in NICUs are at high risk of ICIs, because of several risk factors: broad spectrum antibiotic treatments, central catheters and other invasive devices, fungal colonization, and impaired immune responses.

A global point prevalence survey of antimicrobial use in neonatal intensive care units: The no-more-antibiotics and resistance (NO-MAS-R) study.

Background: Global assessment of antimicrobial agents prescribed to infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) may inform antimicrobial stewardship efforts.

Methods: We conducted a one-day global point prevalence study of all antimicrobials provided to NICU infants. Demographic, clinical, and microbiologic data were obtained including NICU level, census, birth weight, gestational/chronologic age, diagnoses, antimicrobial therapy (reason for use; length of therapy), antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP), and 30-day in-hospital mortality.

Respiratory syncytial virus seropositivity at birth is associated with adverse neonatal respiratory outcomes.

Background: More than 60 years since the discovery of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the effects of prenatal exposure to this virus remain largely unknown. In this investigation, we sought to find evidence of RSV seroconversion in cord blood and explore its clinical implications for the newborn.

Methods: Offspring from 22 pregnant women with a history of viral respiratory infection during the third trimester of pregnancy (respiratory viral illness [RVI] group) and 40 controls were enrolled in this study between 1 September 2016 and 31 March 2019.

Lung recruitment before surfactant administration in extremely preterm neonates with respiratory distress syndrome (IN-REC-SUR-E): a randomised, unblinded, controlled trial.

Background: The importance of lung recruitment before surfactant administration has been shown in animal studies. Well designed trials in preterm infants are absent. We aimed to examine whether the application of a recruitment manoeuvre just before surfactant administration, followed by rapid extubation (intubate-recruit-surfactant-extubate [IN-REC-SUR-E]), decreased the need for mechanical ventilation during the first 72 h of life compared with no recruitment manoeuvre (ie, intubate-surfactant-extubate [IN-SUR-E]).

Is Lactoferrin More Effective in Reducing Late-Onset Sepsis in Preterm Neonates Fed Formula Than in Those Receiving Mother's Own Milk? Secondary Analyses of Two Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trials.

Background: Lactoferrin is the major antimicrobial protein in human milk. In our randomized controlled trial (RCT) of bovine lactoferrin (BLF) supplementation in preterm neonates, BLF reduced late-onset sepsis (LOS). Mother's own milk (MM) contains higher concentrations of lactoferrin than donor milk or formula, but whether BLF is more effective in infants who receive formula or donor milk is uncertain.

Emergence of two novel sequence types (3366 and 3367) NDM-1- and OXA-48-co-producing K. pneumoniae in Italy.

The aim of this study was to analyze the alarming spread of NDM-1- and OXA-48-co-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae clinical isolates, collected between October 2016 and January 2018 in a neonatal intensive care unit of the University Hospital, Catania, Italy, through whole genome sequencing. All confirmed carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae (CRKp) isolates were characterized pheno- and geno-typically, as well as by whole genome sequencing (WGS).

Exposure to Gastric Acid Inhibitors Increases the Risk of Infection in Preterm Very Low Birth Weight Infants but Concomitant Administration of Lactoferrin Counteracts This Effect.

Objective: To investigate whether exposure to inhibitors of gastric acidity, such as H2 blockers or proton pump inhibitors, can independently increase the risk of infections in very low birth weight (VLBW) preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Study Design: This is a secondary analysis of prospectively collected data from a multicenter, randomized controlled trial of bovine lactoferrin (BLF) supplementation (with or without the probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG) vs placebo in prevention of late-onset sepsis (LOS) and necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in preterm infants. Inhibitors of gastric acidity were used at the recommended dosages/schedules based on the clinical judgment of attending physicians.

Detection of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) at birth in a newborn with respiratory distress.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most common respiratory pathogen in infants and young children. From the nasopharyngeal or conjunctival mucosa of infected individuals, RSV spreads to the lower respiratory tract causing acute bronchiolitis and pneumonia after an incubation period of 4-6 days. In addition to its well-documented tropism for the airway epithelium, it has been shown previously that RSV can also spread hematogenously and efficiently infect extrapulmonary tissues of human hosts.

Efficacy of a new technique - INtubate-RECruit-SURfactant-Extubate - "IN-REC-SUR-E" - in preterm neonates with respiratory distress syndrome: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Although beneficial in clinical practice, the INtubate-SURfactant-Extubate (IN-SUR-E) method is not successful in all preterm neonates with respiratory distress syndrome, with a reported failure rate ranging from 19 to 69 %. One of the possible mechanisms responsible for the unsuccessful IN-SUR-E method, requiring subsequent re-intubation and mechanical ventilation, is the inability of the preterm lung to achieve and maintain an "optimal" functional residual capacity. The importance of lung recruitment before surfactant administration has been demonstrated in animal studies showing that recruitment leads to a more homogeneous surfactant distribution within the lungs.

Prehypertension in adolescents with cardiovascular risk: a comparison between type 1 diabetic patients and overweight subjects.

Background: Adolescents with type 1 diabetes and obesity present higher cardiovascular risk and ambulatory blood pressure measurements (ABPM) has been shown to predict vascular events, especially by identifying the nondipper status. The aim of our observational cross-sectional study conducted in adolescents with type 1 diabetes, overweight subjects and healthy controls was to assess mean blood pressure parameters to identify subclinical cardiovascular risk.

Methods: The study included adolescents patients with type 1 diabetes followed in our Pediatric Department in University of Catania between January 2011 and 2013.

Heart involvement in children and adults with cystic fibrosis: correlation with pulmonary indexes and inflammation markers.

Background: Cardiovascular involvement in Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a not rare condition, although the prevalence of subclinical pulmonary hypertension (PH) and cardiac dysfunction is not known in the early stages of CF progression. The aim of our study was to assess cardiac involvement in children and adults affected by cystic fibrosis compared with healthy subjects of same age using echocardiography.

Methods: Fifty-five patients, 25 adults and 30 children completed the study.

Effects of Sustained Lung Inflation, a lung recruitment maneuver in primary acute respiratory distress syndrome, in respiratory and cerebral outcomes in preterm infants.

Background: Sustained Lung Inflation (SLI) is a maneuver of lung recruitment in preterm newborns at birth that can facilitate the achieving of larger inflation volumes, leading to the clearance of lung fluid and formation of functional residual capacity (FRC).

Aim: To investigate if Sustained Lung Inflation (SLI) reduces the need of invasive procedures and iatrogenic risks.

Study Design: 78 newborns (gestational age≤34 weeks, weighing≤2000 g) who didn't breathe adequately at birth and needed to receive SLI in addition to other resuscitation maneuvers (2010 guidelines).