Cardiovascular assessment and monitoring in pediatric intensive care unit and neonatal intensive care unit requires careful integration of physical findings,laboratory studies and hemodynamic data like cardiac output measured using invasive and vasive methods.Which is useful for the clinician to understand the patient′s overall condi-tion,discern the patient′s trajectory,and anticipate associated consequences of current management choices.

Cardiac dysfunction in preterm infants is a common acute and critical illness,associated with higher mortality,and can cause severe short-term and long-term sequelae. Therefore,understanding the main fea-ture of hemodynamics in premature neonates,and the accurate and appropriate clinical monitoring methods are essential to assess cardiac function in early time. This review summarizes the main hemodynamic problem and cardiac function assessment methods in preterm neonates.

Flexible bronchoscopy has become an important diagnostic and therapeutic technique in the neonatal intensive care unit.With the improvement of the instrument and operating techniques of the bronchoscopists,flexible bronchoscopy has been applied in the preterm infant that weighted 600 grams.In this article,a review of application of flexible bronchoscopy in neonates,including diagnostic and therapeutic indications,security in the neonatal applications would be presented.

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD)characterized as the abnormal development of premature lung and trachea influenced by perinatal factors is the most common respiratory disease in very premature infants,and is also one of the diseases confirmedly related to poor quality of life.With the advancement of neonatal research and the im-provement in clinical care,more very premature infants with BPD survived to discharge.BPD is becoming the disease which both neonatologists and pediatricians should pay much attention to.The definition of BPD in recent years is in controversy.In this paper,the physiologic definition of BPD was comprehensively reviewed as a recently more accepted definition.

Objective The aim of this study is to retrospectively analyze perioperative managements of very-low-birth-weight(VLBW) preterms with hemodynamic significant patent ductus arteriosus (hsPDA).Methods Between January 2006 and December 2011,totally 22 VLBW preterms with hsPDA underwent surgical ductal ligation.There were 12 boys and 10 girls.The median gestatianal age was 29 weeks (24 + 5-32 +6 weeks).The birth weight was (1103 ± 228) g(640-1440 g).The Apgar score was 6.1 ± 2.2 at 1 minute,8.6 ± 1.2 at 5 minutes.The average ductal size was (3.79 ± 1.01)mm (2.0-5.9 mm)、(2.69 ± 0.84) mm/kg(1.23-4.23 mm/kg),left atrial diameter to aortic root ratio(LA:AO) was 1.69 ± 0.41.The median weight at surgery was 1500 g(640-2100 g),average (1512 ±539) g.The median age at surgery was 24 days (11-167 days).Results 1 case death because of anesthetic accident.The average hospitalization days were (67.1 ± 36.1) days.The days of ventilation treatment after surgery were 2-44 days,15 cases (68.2％) weaned from mechanical ventilation within seven days after surgeries.The complications includes pulmonary hemorrhage (18.2％),necrotizing enterocolitis (13.6％),septicemia(22.7％),broncho-pulmonary dysplasia (63.7％),brain injury(18.1％),retinopathy of prematurity (31.8％),pneumonia (86.4％) and metabolic acidosis (45.5 ％).Conclusion For VLBW preterms with hsPDA,early diagnosis and early interfere are key points.Surgical PDA ligation is a promising option to avoid severe complications when medical treatments are ineffective.

Objective To determine the effectiveness of systolic blood pressure gradient between the right arm and the right leg(SBPG) tests in the diagnosis of neonatal aorta anomaly(AoA).Methods The SBPG of infants suspected of having critical congenital heart diseases were collected prospectively,who were admitted to Guangdong General Hospital from January 2013 to December 2015.The results of SBPG test were compared with those of echocardiography or cardiac computed tomography (golden standard).The rates of true positive,true negative,false positive,false negative were calculated under cutoff values of 5 mmHg(1 mmHg =0.133 kPa),10 mmHg,15 mmHg and 20 mmHg,respectively.Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves was used to compare tests of different cutoff and the areas under the ROC curve were also calculated.Results Among 664 enrolled infants,67 cases were confirmed by golden standard test.The systolic blood pressure in the right arm,the legs and SBPG in AoA group and non-AoA group were (88.0±20.4) mmHgvs.(73.4±9.3) mmHg (P＜0.01),(66.1 ±10.1) mmHg vs.(69.0 ±9.7) mmHg(P＞0.05) and (22.6±17.8) mmHgvs.(2.3 ±4.8) mmHg(P ＜0.01),respectively.In these patients,31 cases(46.3％),31 cases(46.3％),27 cases(40.3％) and 21 cases(31.3％) were diagnosed of AoA,and 36 cases(53.7％),36 cases (53.7％),40 cases(59.7％),and 46 cases (68.7％) were missed by SBPG tests of 5 mmHg,10 mmHg,15 mmHg and 20 mmHg,respectively (P ＜ 0.01).The rates of true negative among those groups were 94.1％,99.5％,99.7％ and 100.0％,and the areas under ROC curve were 0.656,0.722,0.695 and 0.657,respectively (P ＜ 0.01).Conclusions Almost half of AoA infants could be screened out by SBPG test.The cutoff of 10 mmHg could probably be used to screen potential AoA infants,with higher true positive rate and lower false positive rate.

[ ABSTRACT] AIM:To investigate the biological characteristics of newborn rabbit tracheal chondrocytes in vitro. METHODS:Newborn rabbit tracheal chondrocytes were obtained by the method of enzyme digestion, and then cultured in monolayer in vitro.Morphological and growth observations were performed under inverted phase contrast microscope.The ultrastructures of the cells were observed under scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope.The bi-ological characteristics of secreted extracellular matrix components were detected by real-time PCR, immunocytochemistry staining and toluidine blue staining.RESULTS: Newborn rabbit tracheal chondrocytes isolated and cultured in vitro showed short triangular or irregular shapes, and adherent growth very well.The ultrastructures of the cells showed pore and abundant cytoplasm and organelles, with a lot of protein secretions in the cells.The chondrocytes expressed the mRNA of collagen I, collagen II and proteoglycans, mainly collagen II and proteoglycans.Immunocytochemistry staining showed col-lagen II and SOX9 positive, and collagen I weakly positive.Toluidine blue staining was also positive.CONCLUSION:Enzyme digestion and monolayer culture are suitable method to obtain newborn rabbit tracheal chondrocytes.These cells, secreting extracellular matrix components, are able to be selected as seed cells for tissue engineering of trachea in vitro, and used to study the therapeutic method for neonatal rabbit tracheal stenosis.

Objective To summarize primary experiences of integrated fetal diagnosis and postnatal treatment for the transposition of the great arteries (TGA). Methods Five fetus were diagnozed as TGA at(28.4 ±4.4) weeks of gestation via fetal echocardiography. The mean age of the pregnant women was (28.4 ±3.0) years old. Delivers were taken by caesarean at (36.5 ±1.8) weeks of gestation. The body weight of neonates was (2468 ±442) grams. All neonates were transported to the department of neonatology and re-checked by echocardiography. 3 cases were TGA with intact ventricular septum, 2 cases were TGA with ventricular septal defect. Prostaglandin and mechanical ventilation were applied if oxygen saturation was lower. The standard arterial switch procedure was performed under cardiopulmonary bypass with moderate hypothermia. Results The mean age for patients at surgery was (9. 0 ±6. 2) days ( ranged 2-19 days). Three neonates survived, 2 preterm neonates died. One with body weight 1770 g, 2 days after operation was died of sudden heart arrest and failure of resuscitation. Another was treated by mechanical ventilation and prostaglandin after delivery and underwent operation at the second postnatal day, the neonate appeared low cardiac output and high serum lactate postoperatively and died in the third day. Conclusion The integrated fetal diagnosis and postnatal treatment for TGA could prevent severe cyanosis and emergency transportation after parturition. The lack of any link in the cooperation among the multidisciplinary team could affect the benefits for the TGA neonates provided by prenatal diagnosis.

Objective To determine the long term outcomes of laryngomalacia infants with anomalies and to determine the clinical practice guideline for these infants.Methods The charts of infants with moderate to severe laryngomalacia,who were admitted to our hospital between January 2013 and December 2015,were retrospectively reviewed.These infants were divided into two groups,anomaly(A) group(n=37) and non-anomaly (NA) group(n=19).Results Fifty-six cases were enrolled.Infants in A group were older at symptom relief than those in NA group[(10.00±3.56) months vs.(7.89±3.03) months,P＜0.05],and the weight percentiles of infants in A group were lower at 3,6 and 12 months than those in NA group(P＜0.05).There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups on the weights percentiles in infants at 24 months after diagnosis.Five of 37 cases in A group and 3 of 19 cases in NA group had supraglottoplasty.One infant in A group had tracheotomy.Conclusion Both breathing difficulty and development retardations of infants with moderate or severe laryngomalacia could gradually improved with age.There is not enough evidence to support the aggressive supraglottoplasty for infants with anomalies and laryngomalacia.

Objective To investigate the time for spontaneous closure of the ductus arteriosus and the trends of cardiac index(CI),peripheral vascular resistance index(SVRI)and blood pressure of neonates with different gesta-tional ages(GA). Methods A prospective observational study about 95 newborns,including 20 full - term and 75 pre-term infants were divided into 4 groups according to their GA as GA ﹤ 32 weeks(n = 27),32 weeks≤GA ﹤ 34 weeks (n = 25),34 weeks≤GA ﹤ 37 weeks(n = 23),GA≥37 weeks(n = 20). Patent ductus arteriosus was diagnosed by echocardiography(ECHO)at the time of 24 h,48 h,72 h,7 d and 14 d. CI,SVRI and blood pressure were measured with ultrasonic cardiac output monitor(USCOM). Results The cumulative spontaneous closure rate of arterious ductus of 32 weeks≤GA ﹤34 weeks,34 weeks≤GA ﹤37 weeks group and GA≥37 weeks group at 24 h after birth was 44. 0% , 61. 0% and 90. 0% respectively. However the rate was only 59. 1% at 72 h with the GA less than 32 weeks,of which 9 cases needed ibuprofen and 1 patient was conducted ductus arteriosus ligation. The differences in cumulative closure rate among 4 groups based on GA at 5 time points were statistically significant(χ2 =6. 756,4. 735,18. 890,11. 366,28. 159,all P ﹤0. 05). There was significant increase of systolic blood pressure,diastolic blood pressure and SVRI with ductus arte-riosus closure(t = -32. 561,-19. 913,-31. 791,4. 760,all P ﹤0. 000 1;t = - 25. 091,- 23. 400,- 21. 147,2. 240,all P ﹤0. 05;t = -10. 931,-9. 975,-9. 629,2. 350,all P ﹤ 0. 05). Whereas CI significantly decreased in groups of GA ﹤32 weeks,32 weeks ≤GA ﹤34 weeks,34 weeks ≤GA ﹤37 weeks(t =9. 224,6. 515,5. 996,all P ﹤ 0. 001)and no sig-nificant changes in GA≥37 weeks(t =0. 940,P ﹥0. 05). Conclusions With the increase of gestational age,the rate of naturally early arterial catheter closure is higher. Whereas there still are nearly one - third infants requiring medical or surgical intervention in the group of GA ﹤32 weeks. Ductus arteriosus has great influence on hemodynamics. For preterm, especially very low birth weight preterm,the use of ECHO and USCOM can early detect and treat patent ductus arteriosus.