Objective To determine the prevalence, characteristics, risk factors, and outcomes of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in neonates. Methods Data were collected retrospectively among neonates admitted to NICU in St. Louis Children's Hospital in Washington University School of Medicine between January 1,2005 and December 31,2006. Results A total of 682 patients were mechanically ventilated and 79 episodes of VAP occurred in 527 patients who were mechanically ventilated for more than or equal to 48 h. VAP prevalence were 6. 3,5. 8,5.6, and 3.6 per 1 000 ventilator days for patients with birth weight ≤1 000 g, 1 001～1 500 g, 1 501～2 500 g, and＞2 500 g, respectively. By multivariate logistic regression analysis, smaller gestational age and longer duration of mechanical ventilation were found to be predictive of VAP (odds ratio:0. 886 and 1. 037;95% confidence interval:0. 839～0. 943 and 1.027～1.046). Patients with VAP had prolonged length of stay in NICU [ (103.6 4±69. 1) d vs (42. 8 ±46. 5) d]. Gram-negative bacilli were the most commonly isolated organisms (86. 09%). Conclusion VAP occurred at higher rates in neonates with smaller gestational age and might be associated with increased length of stay. Developing a standardized assessment of readiness to wean mechanical ventilatory support would be useful in this patient population.

Objective To study the constituent ratio and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of pathogenic bacteria in patients with urinary tract infection (UTI) in NICU. Methods Data were collected retrospectively of neonates who admitted to NICU in St. Louis Children' s Hospital in Washington University School of Medicine between Jan 1 ,2005 and Dec 31,2006. Results The prevalence of UTI in NICU was 6. 5%. Gram-negative organisms were the most common agents of UTI in NICU,of which Ecoli ranked highest ,followed by Klebiella and Enterobacter cloacae. Of gram-positive organisms Enterococcus species and Coagulase-negative Staphylococci were the most common agents. Cefepime and gentamycin showed high activity against gram-negative organisms. Overall, non-E. coli microorganisms showed more resistances compared with Escherichia coli. The best susceptible antibiotics for gram-positive organisms were vancomycin and rifampin. Almost all gram-negative bacteria showed resistant to ampicillin and all of gram-positive bacteria resistant to penicillin and oxacillin. Conclusion Gram-negative organisms were the most common agents of UTI in NICU in this study. The drug resistance of bacteria is severe,especially to ampicillin and penicillin,which will be no longer the first choice clinically. So urine culture should be examined when initiating antibiotics treatment for UTI.

OBJECTIVETo review the pathophysiology, evaluation, management, and outcomes of children with inherited disorders of surfactant metabolism due to mutations in the genes encoding surfactant proteins-B or -C (SFTPB, SFTPC), ATP binding cassette member A3 (ABCA3), and thyroid transcription factor (NKX2.1).

DATA SOURCESReview of the literature, previous work from the author's and collaborators' laboratories, St. Louis Children's Hospital Lung Transplant Database.

STUDY SELECTIONKey articles in the field, author's work.

RESULTSInherited disorders of surfactant metabolism present as acute, severe respiratory dysfunction in the neonatal period (SFTPB, ABCA3, NKX2.1) or as chronic respiratory insufficiency in later infancy and childhood which is of variable onset, severity, and course (SFTPC, ABCA3, NKX2.1). Diagnosis is established with sequencing the relevant genes; lung biopsy with electron microscopy is a useful adjunct. For surfactant protein-B and ABCA3 deficiency presenting with acute neonatal disease, treatment options are limited to lung transplantation or compassionate care. For the more chronic presentations of surfactant protein-C, ABCA3, and NKX2.1 associated disease, the natural history is variable and therefore individualized, supportive care is appropriate,

CONCLUSIONSInherited disorders of surfactant metabolism are rare, but informative diseases that provide unique opportunities for understanding mechanisms of respiratory disease in newborns and children.

ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters ; genetics ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Lung Diseases ; diagnosis ; etiology ; therapy ; Lung Transplantation ; Mutation ; Pulmonary Surfactant-Associated Protein B ; deficiency ; genetics ; Pulmonary Surfactant-Associated Protein C ; genetics ; Pulmonary Surfactants ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo assess the risk factors for nosocomial blood-stream infection (BSI) in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

METHODSClinical data from the neonates admitted to the NICU in the St. Louis Children's Hospital in Washington University School of Medicine between January 2005 and December 2006 were retrospectively studied.

RESULTSA total of 1 290 neonates were included. Overall, 175 nosocomial BSIs occurred. Catheter-related BSIs accounted for 62.3% (109 cases). The incidence of nosocomial BSI was 4.22 per 1 000 patient-days. Logistic regression analysis revealed that low gestational age, low Apgar scores at 5 minutes, use of central venous catheter (CVC), and longer CVC use were risk factors for the development of nosocomial BSI. In the subgroup of neonates with CVC, mechanical ventilation was an additional independent risk factor for BSI.

CONCLUSIONSCatheter-related BSI is the major source of nosocomial BSI in the NICU. Prematurity, low Apgar scores at birth and prolonged CVC use are risk factors for the development of BSI.

Bacteremia ; etiology ; Cross Infection ; etiology ; Female ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Intensive Care Units, Neonatal ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Risk Factors

OBJECTIVETo explore the prevalence of pulmonary surfactant associated pathway genes functional variants in Chinese population.

METHODUsing a cohort of 258 mixed ethnic population of Han and Zhuang, we pooled DNA samples from 146 term male infants and 112 term female infants and then used an Ill umina next generation sequencing platform to perform the complete exonic resequencing in 6 target genes:surfactant protein-B (SFTPB), surfactant protein-C (SFTPC), ATP-binding cassette transporter A3 (ABCA3), lysophospholipid acyltransferase 1 (LPCAT1), choline phosphotransferase 1 (CHPT1), phosphate cytidylyltransferase 1, choline, beta (PCYT1B). Collapsing methods was used to determine the functional allele frequency.

RESULT(1) Altogether, 128 variants were found, including 44 synonymous variants, 66 nonsynonymous variants and 18 insertions-deletions. Of these, 28 variants were predicted to alter protein function. Two of these variants were seen twice, the rest variants were only seen once, for a total of 30 functional alleles; (2) ABCA3 had the most functional variants in both male and female groups with the minor allele frequencies of 0.014 (1.4%) and 0.04 (4%), respectively. The total functional allele frequencies of 6 genes were 0.041 (4.1%) and 0.08 (8%) in the two groups, respectively (P = 0.06).

CONCLUSION(1) Functional variants in pulmonary surfactant associated pathway genes are present in the mixed Han-Zhuang population. (2) ABCA3 contained the most functional variants suggesting that ABCA3 could contribute significantly to neonatal respiratory distress syndrome and other lung disease.

1-Acylglycerophosphocholine O-Acyltransferase ; genetics ; metabolism ; ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters ; genetics ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; ethnology ; genetics ; China ; ethnology ; Female ; Gene Frequency ; Genetic Association Studies ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Genetic Variation ; Genotype ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Pulmonary Surfactant-Associated Protein C ; genetics ; Pulmonary Surfactant-Associated Proteins ; genetics ; Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn ; ethnology ; genetics