Objective To analyze the clinical features of fungal septicemia in premature infants in a hospital,and provide reference for clinical diagnosis and treatment.Methods Clinical data of 18 premature infants with fungal septicemia in a hospital between January 2011 and December 2013 were analyzed retrospectively.Results Gesta-tional ages of 18 premature infants were 27-36 weeks,birth weights were 1 050 g-3 100 g,8 of whom were very low birth weight infants(VLBWI);all premature infants were treated with broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents,and were given long-term parenteral nutrition before infection,10 with mechanical ventilation,2 with peripherally insert-ed central catheters(PICC).The main clinical manifestations were apnoea,twitch,feeding difficulty,and poor reac-tion;manifestations appeared 3 hours-52 days after birth.13(72.22%)premature infants had abnormal white blood cell count,12 (66.67%)had thrombocytopenia (< 100 × 109/L),18 (100.00%)had elevated C-reactive protein (CRP),the average CRP level was (41 .90 ±26.77)mg/L.The main pathogens were Candida spp .(n = 17, 94.44%),including Candida parapsilosis (n=7),Candida albicans (n =5 ),biovariety of Candida albicans (n =4),and Candida famata (n=1);premature infants were treated with fluconazol and amphotericin B,15 (83.33%) were cured,2 (11 .11 %)improved,and 1 (5.56%)died.Conclusion Fungal septicemia in premature infants are mainly caused by Candida,there is no specific clinical manifestations,clinical symptoms in premature infants with high risk factors should be closely observed,blood routine and CRP should be detected periodically,timely treat-ment with antifungal agents should be given,which are beneficial to achieve good therapeutic effect.

Objective To explore the risk factors of urolithiasis incidence of migrant workers in Zhongshan,in order to provide the scientific evidence for preventing urolithiasis.Methods 1 630 workshop migrant workers and 1630 office white collar workers were selected as the subjects of this study.The questionnaire was conducted according to the age,gender,genetic factors,occupation,past illness factors,living environment,work environment factors,diet habit,the habit of drinking water survey,B ultrasound examination,the detection of blood uric acid.Results The incidence rate of urolithiasis was 6.53％,the incidence rate of workshop migrant workers was 8.28％,which was significantly higher than that of white collar 4.72％ (x2 =16.972,P ＜0.01).Conclusion Work environment,eating habits,drinking habits,smoking and sweating are related risk factors of urolithiasis.

Objective To investigate the effect of illness severity on preterm infant's hypothalamusputituary-adrenal (HPA) axis, we measured the serum concentration of cortisol,aldosterone and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). Methods Ninety preterm infants who were transferred to our hospital within 72 hours after birth were involved. These preterm infants were divided into two groups:gestational age (GA) ≥34 weeks' preterm infants and GA <34 weeks' preterm infants. We evaluated these preterm infants at the time of admission,day 7 and day 14 after birth with neonatal critical illness score (NCIS). Then they were divided into mild group and severe group by the lowest score. We measured their serum cortisol,aldosterone and ACTH at the time of admission,day 7 and day l4 after birth. Results (1) The serum cortisol concentration of preterm infants with severe illness was higher than that of preterm infants with mild illness. Among the GA ≥34 weeks' preterm infants,the serum cortisol concentration of preterm infants with severe illness was significandy higher than that of preterm infants with mild illness within 72 hours after birth (t = -2.263,P =0. 029). Among the GA <34 weeks' preterm infants,the serum cortisol concentration of preterm infants with severe illness was significantly higher than that of preterm infants with mild illness on day 14 after birth (t =-2. 913 ,P =0. 006). (2) Among the preterm infants with severe illness,the serum cortisol concentration of the GA≥34 weeks' was significantly higher than that of the GA < 34 weeks' within 72 hours after birth (t =-2. 641 ,P =0. 010) ;the serum cortisol concentration of the GA <34 weeks' was significantly higher than that of the GA≥34 weeks' on the day 14 after birth(t = -2. 189,P =0. 036) . (3) The serum cortisol concentration was significantly decreased in the GA≥34 weeks'preterm infants (F = 4. 679, P =0. 012). (4) The serum cortisol concentration of aldosterone and ACTH was not significantly different between preterm infants with severe illness and those with mild illness. Conclusion The preterm infant already has the ability to respond to stimuli by regulating cortisol secretion. The serum cortisol concentration increases as disease severity worsens.Serum aldosterone and ACTH concentration are not correlated with the severity of the disease.

Objective: To investigate the effect of elective cesarean section (ECS) on infants' developmental behaviors. Methods: A total of 3 474 pregnant women living in Ma'anshan more than 6 months and accepting obstetric examination in Ma'anshan Maternal and Child Care Center were recruited from May 2013 to September 2014. Excluding participants with pregnancy termination (162), twin pregnancy (39), assisted delivery (14), emergency cesarean section (76) and unclear delivery mode (141), 3 042 pair of mother and infant entered the final analysis. Information of maternal basic demographic characteristics, pregnancy histories, pregnancy life style and pregnancy-related diseases were collected by using self-complied Maternal and Child Health Questionnaire. Information of infants' general condition and delivery modes were acquired from obstetric record. The Ages and Stages Questionnaires-third edition was used to assess infants' communication, gross motor, fine motor, problem solving and person-social function, which was completed at age of 6 months old and 18 months old, respectively. And multi-factor non-conditional logistic regression model was used to analyze the association between ECS and infants' developmental behaviors. Results: The prevalence of ECS was 47.5% (1 443/3 042), among which ECS without medical indication and ECS with medical indication were 27.2% (826/3 042) and 20.3% (617/3 042), respectively. After maternal demographic characteristics, pregnant exposure and infants' basic information adjusted, compared to women with vaginal delivery, both ECS with medical indication and without medical indication increased the risk of a delay in gross motor on infants at 6 months old (RR (95%CI: 1.72 (1.08-2.77) and 1.87 (1.11-3.15), respectively.) ECS without indication decreased the risk of a delay in fine motor on infants at 6 months old (RR (95%CI):0.48 (0.28-0.82)), both ECS without medical indication and with medical indication had no statistically significant effect on 18 months infants' communication, gross motor, fine motor, problem solving and person-social function, the RR (95%CI) for ECS without medical indication were 0.86 (0.43-1.74), 1.55 (0.86-2.78), 0.74 (0.49-1.15), 1.10 (0.68-1.78) and 1.17 (0.66-2.08), respectively; and the RR (95%CI) for ECS with medical indication were 0.33 (0.12-1.02), 1.10 (0.55-2.21), 0.79 (0.48-1.29), 0.58 (0.29-1.13) and 1.48 (0.78-2.81), respectively. Conclusion ECS affected motor development in infants at the age of 6 months old, and no influence was found in infants at the age of 18 months old.

Objective:To study the clinical characteristics of neonatal sepsis caused by raoultella ornithinolytica.Methods:From January 2010 to December 2020, clinical data of seven cases of neonates with raoultella ornithinolytica sepsis in the Department of Neonatology of our hospital were analyzed. Literature published from the establishment of the databases to December 31, 2020 were searched and reviewed on this topic. The databases included PubMed, Web of Science, Embase database, Wanfang Database, CNKI, National Science and Technology Library and Chinese Science Paper Online.Results:Among the 7 cases admitted to our hospital, 6 male and 1 female, 6 premature and 1 full-term small-for-gestational-age (SGA), 6 patients presented with lethargy, 5 patients had fever and 3 showed dyspnea. 4 patients had necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), 1 congenital intestinal malrotation, 1 congenital jejunal atresia, 1 intestinal adhesion and stricture. 4 patients had history of surgery. Leucocytosis was found in 3 cases and leukopenia in 1 case. Thrombocytopenia and increased inflammatory indicators were found in all cases. All 7 patients recovered and were discharged. 4 articles on 4 newborn cases (3 males, 1 female including two premature infants) were found for literature review. 3 cases had skin flushing, 3 cases showed dyspnea, 2 cases had fever and 1 case presented with lethargy. 1 case received surgery for congenital heart disease. Leucocytosis was found in 2 cases, leukopenia in 1 case, thrombocytopenia in 2 cases and elevated inflammatory indicators in 3 cases. 1 patient died due to septic shock and the other three recovered and were discharged.Conclusions:Raoultella ornithinolytica neonatal sepsis may occur in infants with intestinal comorbidities, history of invasive procedures, premature birth or full-term SGA and congenital malformations. Most anti-infective therapies are effective. However, if the patient had septic shock, the prognosis is poor.

Objective:To compare the characteristics and differences of intestinal flora in premature infants with late-onset sepsis (LOS) and pneumonia by high-throughput sequencing technology, and to investigate the relationship between intestinal flora and LOS.Methods:Through the case-control method, premature infants with late-onset sepsis who were hospitalized in the neonatal department of Hunan Children′s Hospital from August 2018 to October 2019 were selected as the case group ( n=8). At the same time, premature infants diagnosed with pneumonia were selected as the control group ( n=8). The fecal samples of 16 premature infants were collected for the first time, and the DNA was extracted. The DNA of the target region was amplified by polymerase chain reaction(PCR). High-throughput sequencing was performed using NovaSeq 6000 platform to analyze the composition and diversity of intestinal flora between the two groups. Results:(1) Alpha diversity analysis showed that there was no significant difference in the richness and diversity of intestinal flora between the two groups(all P>0.05). (2) The intestinal flora in premature infants of LOS group and control group were dominated by Firmicutes and Proteobacteria, and facultative anaerobes such as Enterococcus and Escherichia-Shigella were the dominant flora at the genus level. Metastas statistical analysis showed that there was no statistically significant difference in flora composition between the two groups at the phylum level ( P>0.05). (3) Metastas statistical analysis was carried out at the level of class, order, family, genus, and species. The relative abundance of actinomycetes, digestive streptococcaceae and Clostridium in LOS group was higher than that in pneumonia group, and the difference was statistically significant (all P<0.05). (4) The relative abundance of Staphylococcus in the LOS group was significantly greater than that in the control group, but Metastas statistical analysis showed that there was no statistically significant difference in the relative abundance of staphylococcus between the two groups ( P>0.05). (5) Among the 8 cases of LOS, 3 premature infants had positive blood cultures, namely Streptococcus agalactiae, Streptococcus mitis, and Enterococcus faecalis. Enterococcus faecalis belongs to the genus Enterococcus, and Enterococcus belongs to the dominant genus in the LOS group. Conclusions:Different site infections have effects on intestinal microecology of premature infants. There were differences in intestinal flora composition between premature infants with LOS and premature infants with pneumonia.

Objective:To study the protective effect of polygalasaponin F (PGSF) on isoproterenol (ISO)-induced myocardial ischemia (MI) injury in neonatal rats and its possible mechanism.Methods:Fifty newborn Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into control group, model group, low, medium and high dose PGSF groups (5, 10, 50 mg/kg), with 10 rats in each group. The rats in the control group were treated with normal saline; Myocardial ischemia (MI) model was established in model group by subcutaneous injection of isoproterenol (ISO, 85 mg/kg, once a day); The MI model was established in rats of low, medium and high dose PGSF group after intraperitoneal injection of 5, 10 and 50 mg/kg PGSF for 7 days. The cardiac function of rats in each group was evaluated by echocardiography; pathological changes of myocardial tissue of rats in each group were observed by hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining; The serum activities of troponin I (cTnI), creatine kinase isoenzyme (CK-MB), myoglobin (Mb) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) of rats in each group were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA); the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) and active oxygen species (ROS) in myocardial tissue were detected ; the expression of nuclear proliferation antigen (Ki67) and caspase-3 protein in myocardial tissue was detected by immunohistochemical staining; The expression of protein kinase B (AKT) and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) protein in myocardium was detected by Western blot.Results:In the model group, the myocardial structure was disordered, the cells were congested and swollen, and there were a lot of inflammatory cells infiltrating and large necrotic foci. The left ventricular wall thickness (LVWT), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), fractional shortening (FS), heart rate (HR) and expression of Ki67 positive protein in the model group were lower than those in the control group (all P<0.05), while the left ventricular end systolic volume (LVESV), activities of cTnI, CK-MB, Mb, LDH in serum, content of ROS and MDA in myocardial tissue and caspase-3 positive protein in the model group were higher than those in the control group (all P<0.05). Compared with the model group, the degree of myocardial pathological changes in neonatal rats of the low, medium and high dose PGSF groups gradually decreased. Compared with model group, the LVWT, LVEF, FS, HR and expression of Ki67 positive protein increased in low, medium and high dose PGSF groups (all P<0.05), while the LVESV, activities of cTnI, CK-MB, Mb and LDH in serum, content of ROS and MDA in myocardial tissue and the expression of caspase-3 positive protein decreased (all P<0.05); Western blot results showed that the relative expression of phosphorylated(p)-AKT/AKT, p-Nrf2/Nrf2 protein in myocardium of model group was lower than that of control group (all P<0.05); The relative expression of p-AKT/AKT, p-Nrf2/Nrf2 protein in myocardium of low, medium and high dose PGSF groups were higher than that in the model group (all P<0.05). Conclusions:PGSF has protective effect on MI injury in neonatal rats, and its mechanism may be related to anti-apoptosis and anti-oxidative stress.

Objective:To explore the relationship between the neural development of preterm infants and gut microbiota.Methods:66 premature infants who were hospitalized in the Neonatology Department of Hunan Children′s Hospital from September 2018 to September 2019 were included in the study. Their fecal samples and clinical data from the first admission were collected. According to the neurodevelopment, the patients were divided into normal neurodevelopment group and neurodysplasia group. The bacterial DNA of fecal samples was extracted by 16S rDNA high-throughput sequencing technology and bioinformatics analysis was conducted to compare the composition and diversity of gut microbiota between the two groups.Results:(1) The Shannon index of gut microbiota in normal neurodevelopmental group and neurodysplastic group was 0.89(0.41, 1.51) and 1.01(0.47, 1.31), respectively. There was no significant difference in diversity index between the two groups ( P>0.05). (2) Bifidobacterium, veronica and negativites in the gut microbiota of the normal neurodevelopmental group were significantly higher (all P<0.05), and streptococcus in the gut microbiota of the dysplastic group were significantly higher ( P<0.05). The gut microbiota of the two groups were mainly enterococcus and escherichia shigella. Conclusions:At the genus level, enterococcus and escherichia are the dominant flora of early gut microbiota in preterm infants. Gut microbiota is related to the neural development of preterm infants. The increased abundance of streptococcus, and the decreased abundance of bifidobacterium, veronicus, and negativites may be risk factors for neurodysplasia of preterm infants. The diversity of gut microbiota in early preterm infants may not be significantly related to neural development.

Objective:To explore the potential genetic causes of unexplained neonatal encephalopathy.Methods:This retrospective study enrolled 113 infants diagnosed with unexplained neonatal encephalopathy and underwent genetic testing in the Children's Hospital of Hunan Province from January 2019 to May 2021. Perinatal data, clinical manifestations, electroencephalograph, brain MRI findings, genetic information, and prognosis of those patients were analyzed. T-test or Chi-square test were used for data analysis. Results:Of the 113 infants enrolled, 74 (65.5%) were males. The gestational age at birth was (38.6±1.5) weeks, and the birth weight was (2 957±561) g. The most common clinical manifestation was the disturbance of consciousness (83/113, 73.5%), followed by seizures (39/113, 34.5%). There were 38.2% (34/89) of the patients with abnormal brain MRI, and 80.4% (74/92) presented abnormal electroencephalography. Among the 113 infants, 60 (53.1%) had genetic abnormalities, including 48 with single nucleotide variations, eight with copy number variations, and four with chromosome abnormalities. Single nucleotide variations in the 48 patients were classified into syndromic ( n=18, 37.5%), metabolic ( n=16, 33.3%), epileptic ( n=11, 22.9%) and mitochondrial-related genes ( n=3, 6.3%), of which 14 were not included in any database. Among the 103 cases which were successfully followed up until December 31, 2021, 75 (72.8%) had a poor prognosis, including 52 (50.5%) death cases and 23 (22.3%) cases of development retardation. Birth weight and the incidence of seizures in the poor prognosis group were both lower than those in the non-poor prognosis group [(2 876±536) vs (3 254±554) g, t=3.15; 29.3% (22/75) vs 53.6% (15/28), χ2=5.20; both P<0.05], while the incidence of disturbance of consciousness was higher [80.0% (60/75) vs 53.6% (15/28), χ2=7.19, P<0.05]. The proportion of infants with genetic abnormalities in the poor prognosis group was higher than that in the non-poor prognosis group, but the difference was not statistically significant [53.3% (40/75) vs 46.4% (13/28), χ2=0.39, P=0.533]. Conclusions:Genetic abnormality is one of the leading causes of unexplained neonatal encephalopathy. Nucleotide variation is the most common genetic type. Syndromic, metabolic, and epileptic variants are frequently detected in these patients.

Objective: To study serum zinc level in pregnancy and umbilical cord blood and their association with newborn birth weight. Methods: Pregnant women accepting obstetric examination in Ma'anshan Maternal and Child Care Center were recruited from May 2013 to September 2014. The follow up was conducted during their first, second and third trimesters of pregnancy and the self-designed questionnaire was used to collect information of social and demographic characteristics. Blood samples in the first, second pregnancy period and umbilical cord blood samples were collected and serum concentrations of zinc were assayed. 3 239 mother-infant entered the final analysis. We divided serum zinc level into low (<P₂₅), medium (P₂₅-P₇₅) and high (>P₇₅) groups according to their exposure concentrations at each trimesters. Non-conditional multivariate logistic regression model was conducted to evaluate the association between serum zinc level in first, second trimesters of pregnancy and umbilical cord blood with small for gestational age (SGA) and large for gestational age (LGA). Results: Serum zinc level in P₅₀ (P₂₅-P₇₅) during the first, second trimesters and cord blood were 1 016.18 (907.09-1 145.60), 813.36 (732.47-897.89) and 903.44 (808.71-1 015.64) μg/L, respectively. The prevalence of zinc deficiency during the first, second trimesters and cord blood were 1.5% (44/2 957), 15.9% (492/3 087) and 6.5% (176/2 707), respectively. The prevalence of total SGA and LGA were 9.7% (313/3 239) and 16.5% (536/3 239), respectively. Compared to high-level serum zinc group, the risk of SGA (OR (95%CI) in low-level serum zinc group during first trimesters was 1.51 (1.05-2.19)). Serum zinc level among second pregnancy period and umbilical cord blood had no statistically significant effect on SGA and LGA (both P values >0.05). Conclusion Zinc nutritional status of pregnant women in Ma'anshan city was at a good level. The low serum zinc level in first trimester increased the risk of SGA.