Other content tagged: news research
Promising new research findings in the field of RSV prevention
Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) has long been recognised as a serious threat to infant health. RSV is the most common cause of bronchiolitis (inflammation of the small airways in the lung) and pneumonia (infection of the lungs). No prevention exists for all infants. Research published earlier this year now suggests that a new preventative option may be able to lower severe RSV infection and hospitalisations. Particularly common during the winter months, RSV infects the lungs…
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Factors Influencing Implementation of Family-Centred Care in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
Being in the NICU is a very stressful experience for infants. The stress level even increases when babies are separated from their parents. This can be avoided with Family-Centred Care (FCC), which involves parents in the care for their infants in order to reduce the stress on newborns and parents. Even though research shows that interactions with parents lead to multiple beneficial effects for both parents and infants, including lowering the stress level for…
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Non‐evidence‐based beliefs increase inequalities in the provision of infant‐ and family‐centred neonatal care
Many hospitals in the world still do not recognise the importance and benefits of family-centred care. This hinders parents to engage in potentially life-saving care procedures, like kangaroo mother care or breastfeeding. In a scientific study, Mendizabal-Espinosa and Warren identified obstacles regarding the implementation of family-centred care in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) of two publicly funded hospitals in Mexico. Data was gathered during a 10-month time period, by observing 29 parents (21 mothers…
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New set of assessments released for follow-up evaluations of adults born preterm
The Adults Born Preterm International Collaboration (APIC) has released a set of Common Core Assessments for follow-up evaluations of adults who were born prematurely. On average, preterm born individuals face more physical and psychological challenges and social difficulties. To further investigate these health outcomes, meta-analyses and cross-validations of studies are important and therefore comparability of follow-up measures is crucial. The recommendations of APIC will help gather consistent measures to ensure cohesive datasets and therefore enable…
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Unprecedented reduction in births of very low birthweight (VLBW) and extremely low birthweight (ELBW) infants during the lockdown
An unbelievable reduction in regional births of VLBW and ELBW infants was observed in Ireland coinciding with the COVID-19 lockdown. Professor Roy K. Phillip and his team at the University Maternity Hospital in Limerick observed a decrease in preterm births of more than 73% during lockdown. On the occasion of their incredible observations Professor Roy K. Phillip has published a new paper regarding to "nature's experiment". In a ZOOM interview with GLANCE Professor Roy…
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New Statement of Lancet COVID-19 Commission
Recommendations of the Lancet COVID-19 Commission for tackling problems of the Coronavirus pandemic The Lancet COVID-19 Commission published a statement to provide countries and international institutions with recommendations including ten priority actions to solve problems of the COVID-19 pandemic. These solutions cover four global challenges: preventing the spread of the virus; tackling poverty, hunger and mental health problems; public and private financial aid; and patching the world’s economy. Read the full…
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Top research priorities for preterm birth – joint results of a study with people affected by preterm birth and healthcare professionals
Since research questions are usually designed by researchers themselves, there is a lack in research aimed at answering important questions from patients, clinicians and members of the public. Therefore, a survey and following prioritisation workshops were designed to find the most urgent and relevant research questions involving clinicians, researchers and people affected by preterm birth in the United Kingdom and Ireland. With the help of an online and a paper-based survey, authors…
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Medical malpractice in neonatology – common medical errors and strategies to minimize malpractice risks
Although neonatal care has seen remarkable improvements, including better quality of care, medical malpractice in neonatology is still of concern. Common areas of malpractice include the delivery room, jaundice, hypoglycaemia, and late preterm infants. In their article “The most common patient safety issues resulting in legal action against neonatologists” Fanaroff and Goldsmith outline frequent errors by healthcare professionals that may result in medical malpractice lawsuits and how these could be prevented.…
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A cost-consequences analysis on increased utilisation of triple chamber bag parenteral nutrition
The safety of parenteral nutrition (PN) remains a concern in preterm neonates, impacting clinical outcomes and health-care-resource use and costs. This cost-consequence analysis assessed national-level impacts of a 10-percentage point increase in use of industry-prepared three-chamber bags (3CBs) on clinical outcomes, healthcare resources, and hospital budgets across seven European countries estimating the impact on compounding error harm and bloodstream infection (BSI) rates, staff time, and annual hospital budget. Due to mostly human errors during the compounding and preparation processes, manually…
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“Small for Gestational Age” lowers cognitive performance from infancy to adulthood
Cognitive performance in childhood can be negatively impacted if an infant was Small for Gestational Age (SGA, birthweight <10% for gestation). As existing research did not show coinciding results on whether lower IQ scores continue to be present in adulthood, Eves et al. conducted an observational study to assess differences in IQ scores between SGA adults and Appropriate for Gestational Age (AGA) adults. The study compared the impact of low familial socioeconomic status and quality…
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