BACKGROUND: Hospitalization in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) exposes preterm infants to adverse stimuli, including continuous 24-hour lighting. There is currently no standardized NICU layout advised for the best development of preterm neonates. This meta-analysis aimed to assess the impact of cycled light (CL) exposure on clinical outcomes in premature infants admitted to NICU as synthesized in previous studies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This meta-analysis protocol was developed following the preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis protocols (PRISMA-P) statement. A search was performed in PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, and Cochrane databases using the MeSH/key words: ―light exposure‖ AND pre-term AND cycled AND (RCT OR trials OR ―randomized controlled trial). The pooled Mean Difference with corresponding 95% CI was computed for weight gain, duration until start of enteral feeding, and duration of ICU stay using the Mantel–Haenszel random-effect model. RESULTS: Nine studies were included. The pooled mean difference showed that among preterm infants who had cycled light exposure, average daily weight gain (MD=6.24 grams, 95%CI=1.36 to 11.13, p=0.01) was significantly higher than those with continuous light exposure. The average time to start enteral feeding (MD=-3.84 days, 95%CI=-7.56 to -0.13, p=0.04) and average ICU stay (MD=-8.43 days, 95%CI=-12.54 to -4.31, p<0.0001) among neonates who had cycled light exposure were significantly shorter. CONCLUSION Benefits were seen in preterm infants when exposed to cycled light as opposed to continuous light. CL exposed infants showed a daily weight gain that was 6.24 grams higher, on average, and began enteral feeding nearly 4 days sooner. It led to a decrease in the duration of ICU stay by around 8 to 9 days on average. Further trials to determine the impact of cycled light exposure on morbidity and mortality among preterm neonates is recommended.
Human ; Male,Female ; Systematic review ; Meta-analysis ; Infant, Premature ; Intensive care units, Neonatal ; Intensive care, Neonatal ; Light ; Lighting ; Critical care

INTRODUCTION

Neonatal sepsis is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality, particularly among preterm infants, and remains a pressing global health concern. Early-onset neonatal sepsis is particularly challenging to diagnose due to its nonspecific clinical presentation, necessitating effective and timely diagnostic tools to reduce adverse outcomes. Traditional methods, such as microbial cultures, are slow and often unavailable in resource-limited settings. This study aimed to develop a robust multivariable risk prediction model tailored to improve early detection of Early Onset Sepsis (EOS) among preterm infants in the Philippines.

We conducted a retrospective analysis at a tertiary hospital in the Philippines using data from 1,354 preterm infants admitted between January 2019 and June 2024. Logistic regression models were employed, and predictors were selected through reverse stepwise elimination. Two scoring methods were developed: one based on beta coefficients divided by standard errors and another standardized to a total score of 100. The models were validated using Receiver Operator Characteristic curve analysis.

Version 1 of the scoring model demonstrated an Area Under the Curve (AUC) of 0.991, with a sensitivity of 90.91% and a specificity of 98.10%. Version 2 achieved an AUC of 0.999, with a sensitivity of 96.4% and a specificity of 92.44%.

The developed models provide a reliable, region specific tool for early detection of neonatal sepsis. Further validation across diverse populations and the integration of emerging diagnostic technologies, such as biomarkers and artificial intelligence, are warranted to enhance their applicability and accuracy.

Female ; Infant, Newborn ; Humans ; Pregnancy ; Premature Birth ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Cerclage, Cervical ; Cervix Uteri

Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Humans ; Infant, Premature ; Gestational Age ; Resuscitation ; China

Objective: To analyze the prevalence and the risk factors of fungal sepsis in 25 neonatal intensive care units (NICU) among preterm infants in China, and to provide a basis for preventive strategies of fungal sepsis. Methods: This was a second-analysis of the data from the "reduction of infection in neonatal intensive care units using the evidence-based practice for improving quality" study. The current status of fungal sepsis of the 24 731 preterm infants with the gestational age of <34⁺⁰ weeks, who were admitted to 25 participating NICU within 7 days of birth between May 2015 and April 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. These preterm infants were divided into the fungal sepsis group and the without fungal sepsis group according to whether they developed fungal sepsis to analyze the incidences and the microbiology of fungal sepsis. Chi-square test was used to compare the incidences of fungal sepsis in preterm infants with different gestational ages and birth weights and in different NICU. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to study the outcomes of preterm infants with fungal sepsis, which were further compared with those of preterm infants without fungal sepsis. The 144 preterm infants in the fungal sepsis group were matched with 288 preterm infants in the non-fungal sepsis group by propensity score-matched method. Univariate and multivariate Logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the risk factors of fungal sepsis. Results: In all, 166 (0.7%) of the 24 731 preterm infants developed fungal sepsis, with the gestational age of (29.7±2.0) weeks and the birth weight of (1 300±293) g. The incidence of fungal sepsis increased with decreasing gestational age and birth weight (both P<0.001). The preterm infants with gestational age of <32 weeks accounted for 87.3% (145/166). The incidence of fungal sepsis was 1.0% (117/11 438) in very preterm infants and 2.0% (28/1 401) in extremely preterm infants, and was 1.3% (103/8 060) in very low birth weight infants and 1.7% (21/1 211) in extremely low birth weight infants, respectively. There was no fungal sepsis in 3 NICU, and the incidences in the other 22 NICU ranged from 0.7% (10/1 397) to 2.9% (21/724), with significant statistical difference (P<0.001). The pathogens were mainly Candida (150/166, 90.4%), including 59 cases of Candida albicans and 91 cases of non-Candida albicans, of which Candida parapsilosis was the most common (41 cases). Fungal sepsis was independently associated with increased risk of moderate to severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) (adjusted OR 1.52, 95%CI 1.04-2.22, P=0.030) and severe retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) (adjusted OR 2.55, 95%CI 1.12-5.80, P=0.025). Previous broad spectrum antibiotics exposure (adjusted OR=2.50, 95%CI 1.50-4.17, P<0.001), prolonged use of central line (adjusted OR=1.05, 95%CI 1.03-1.08, P<0.001) and previous total parenteral nutrition (TPN) duration (adjusted OR=1.04, 95%CI 1.02-1.06, P<0.001) were all independently associated with increasing risk of fungal sepsis. Conclusions: Candida albicans and Candida parapsilosis are the main pathogens of fungal sepsis among preterm infants in Chinese NICU. Preterm infants with fungal sepsis are at increased risk of moderate to severe BPD and severe ROP. Previous broad spectrum antibiotics exposure, prolonged use of central line and prolonged duration of TPN will increase the risk of fungal sepsis. Ongoing initiatives are needed to reduce fungal sepsis based on these risk factors.
Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Humans ; Birth Weight ; Intensive Care Units, Neonatal ; Retrospective Studies ; Tertiary Care Centers ; Infant, Extremely Low Birth Weight ; Gestational Age ; Infant, Extremely Premature ; Sepsis/epidemiology* ; Retinopathy of Prematurity/epidemiology* ; Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia/epidemiology*

Objective: To investigate the outcomes including major complications and prognosis of extremely preterm infants with gestational age ≤25⁺⁶ weeks. Methods: The cross-sectional study enrolled 233 extremely preterm infants with gestational age ≤25⁺⁶ weeks who were admitted to the Department of Neonatology of Shenzhen Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital from January 2015 to December 2021. The clinical data including perinatal factors, treatments, complications, and prognosis were extracted and analyzed. These extremely preterm infants were also grouped according to gestational age and year of admission to further analyze their survival rate, major complications, causes of death, and long-term outcomes. The comparisons between the groups were performed with Chi-square test and Kruskal-Wallis. Results: Among these 233 extremely preterm infants, 134 (57.5%) were males and 99 (42.5%) females. The gestational age was (24.6±0.9) weeks, the birth weight was 710.0 (605.0,784.5) g, and the overall survival rate was 61.8% (144/233). Among the surviving extremely preterm infants, the earliest gestational age was 22⁺² weeks and the lowest birth weight was 390 g. There were 17.6% (41/233) of extremely preterm infants had treatment withdrawn and were discharged in line with the will of guardians. Among the rest 192 extremely preterm infants managed with aggressive treatments, 14 (7.3%) died in hospital and 34 (17.7%) had treatment withdrawn later due to severe complications. Of the 192 extremely preterm infants, 144 (75.0%) survived, and the survival rate increased year by year (χ²=26.28, P<0.001) while the mortality decreased year by year (χ²=14.09, P=0.027). Among the survivors, 20.8%(30/144) had no major complications, and the incidence of complications was also negatively related with the gestational age (χ²=7.24, P=0.044), and the length of invasive ventilation was negatively related to the gestational age (χ²=29.14, P<0.001). In the group of less than 23⁺⁶ weeks, all extremely preterm infants had one or more major complications. The follow-up were completed in 122 infants and revealed that delayed motor development, language retardation, and hearing and vision impairment accounted for 17.2% (21/122), 8.2% (10/122) and 17.2% (21/122), respectively. Conclusions: Extremely preterm infants with gestational age ≤25⁺⁶ weeks are difficult to treat, but the survival rate of infants undergoing aggressive treatments increases year by year. Although the prevalence of major complications is still high, most extremely preterm infants have acceptable prognosis during follow-up.
Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Pregnancy ; Birth Weight ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Gestational Age ; Infant, Extremely Premature ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies

Objective: To compare the dwelling time and complications of low lying umbilical venous catheterization (UVC) in preterm infants with that of central UVC. Methods: This was a prospective cohort study. A total of 3 020 preterm infants from 44 neonatal intensive care units (NICU) who had UVC inserted from October 2019 to August 2021 were enrolled. Demographic and general baseline data, dwelling time of UVC and reasons for removal, complications and their occurrence time were collected. According to the position of the catheter tip, the preterm infants were divided into low lying UVC group (insertion depth of 3-5 cm) and central UVC group (the catheter tip was close to the entrance of right atrium, or at the 8^th-9^th thoracic vertebra level). The Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the dwelling time and incidence of complications (cases/1 000 catheter days), and the independent t test and Chi-square test were used to compare the characteristics between the 2 groups. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the optimal cut-off value of UVC dwelling time. Results: Among the included 3 020 preterm infants, 1 624 (53.8%) were males, the gestational age was 29.9 (28.4, 31.6) weeks, the birth weight was (1 264±301) g, and 2 172 (71.9%) premature babies had central UVC. There were no significant differences in the proportion of males, the gestational age and the birth weight of neonates between the 2 groups (all P>0.05). There were also no significant differences in the rate of maternal history, PPROM>18 hours, chorioamnionitis, antenatal antibacterial angents exposure and antibacterial angents usage through UVC (all P>0.05). The dwelling time of central UVC was longer than that of low lying UVC (7 (6, 10) vs. 4 (3, 7) days, U=23.42, P<0.001). The complication incidence of central and low lying UVC were 20.0 and 70.8 cases/1 000 catheter days, respectively. The top 3 complications of central UVC were occlusion, catheter tip migration, and CLABSI (9.3, 3.5, 3.0 cases/1 000 catheter days). The top 3 complications of low lying UVC were catheter occlusion, CLABSI, and catheter tip migration (45.8, 6.3, 5.4 cases/1 000 catheter days). The ROC curve of UVC dwelling time and complications showed that the cut-off values ​​of central UVC and low lying UVC were 6.5 and 4.5 days, respectively. The 2 groups both showed a trend of increases in the 3 complications with the prolonged dwelling time. Cox regression analysis showed that the overall difference in the proportion of occlusion between the central UVC and low lying UVC groups was statistically significant (χ²=30.18, P=0.024). There were both no significant differences in catheter tip migration and CLABSI (both P>0.05). Conclusions: The most common UVC complication in preterm infants is occlusion. It is not recommended to keep a low lying UVC for longer than 4.5 days. During the whole dwelling period, a close monitoring for UVC complications is required.
Pregnancy ; Male ; Infant, Newborn ; Humans ; Female ; Infant ; Infant, Premature ; Birth Weight ; Prospective Studies ; Catheterization, Central Venous/adverse effects* ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Catheterization, Peripheral/adverse effects* ; Retrospective Studies

Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Humans ; Infant, Premature ; Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and poor prognosis of late-onset sepsis (LOS) in very low birth weight infant (VLBWI). Methods: This prospective, multicenter observational cohort study was conducted based on the data from Sina-Northern Neonatal Network (SNN). The general data, perinatal information and poor prognosis of 6 639 VLBWI, who were admitted to the 35 neonatal intensive care units from 2018 to 2021, were collected and analyzed. According to the occurrence of LOS during hospitalization, the VLBWI were assigned to the LOS group and non-LOS group. The LOS group was further divided into 3 subgroups according to the occurrence of neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) and purulent meningitis. The Chi-square test or Fisher exact probability method, independent sample t test, Mann-Whitney U test and multivariate Logistic regression model were used to analyze the relationship between LOS and poor prognosis in VLBWI. Results: A total of 6 639 eligible VLBWI were enrolled, including 3 402 cases (51.2%) of males and 1 511 cases (22.8%) with LOS. The incidences of LOS in extremely low birth weight infants (ELBWI) and extremely preterm infants were 33.3% (392/1 176) and 34.2% (378/1 105), respectively. There were 157 cases (10.4%) who died in the LOS group and 48 cases (24.9%) in the subgroup of LOS complicated with NEC. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that LOS complicated with NEC was associated with increased mortality and incidence of grade Ⅲ-Ⅳ intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) or periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), moderate or severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), and extrauterin growth retardation (EUGR) (OR_adjust=5.27, 2.59, 3.04, 2.04; 95%CI 3.60-7.73, 1.49-4.50, 2.11-4.37, 1.50-2.79; all P<0.01); LOS complicated with purulent meningitis was also associated with increased mortality and incidence of grade Ⅲ-Ⅳ IVH or PVL, and moderate or severe BPD (OR_adjust=2.22, 8.13, 3.69, 95%CI 1.30-3.37, 5.22-12.67, 2.49-5.48; all P<0.01); the infants without NEC or purulent meningitis in the LOS group was only associated with increased incidence of moderate or severe BPD (OR_adjust=2.20, 95%CI 1.83-2.65, P<0.001). After ruling out contaminated bacteria, a total of 456 cases showed positive blood culture, including 265 cases (58.1%) of Gram-negative bacteria, 126 cases (27.6%) of Gram-positive bacteria, and 65 cases (14.3%) of fungi. The most common pathogenic bacteria was Klebsiella pneumoniae (n=147, 32.2%), followed by coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (n=72, 15.8%) and subsequently Escherichia coli (n=39, 8.6%). Conclusions: The incidence of LOS is high in VLBWI. Klebsiella pneumoniae is the most common pathogenic bacteria, followed by coagulase-negative Staphylococcus and Escherichia coli. LOS is associated with a poor prognosis for moderate to severe BPD. The prognosis of LOS complicated with NEC is poor with the highest mortality, and the risk of brain damage is significantly increased when LOS complicated with purulent meningitis.
Infant ; Male ; Female ; Pregnancy ; Infant, Newborn ; Humans ; Prospective Studies ; Coagulase ; Infant, Extremely Low Birth Weight ; Sepsis/epidemiology* ; Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia ; Escherichia coli ; Infant, Extremely Premature ; Meningitis

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the levels of physical growth and neurodevelopment in preterm infants at the corrected age of 18-24 months. METHODS: The physical growth data and neurodevelopment data of 484 preterm infants at corrected age of 18-24 months were prospectively collected by a post-discharge follow-up system for preterm infants. The infants were regularly followed up in Shenzhen Bao'an Maternal and Child Health Hospital Affiliated to Jinan University from April 2018 to December 2021. The neurodevelopment was evaluated by the Children Neuropsychological and Behavioral Scale-Revision 2016. A total of 219 full-term infants served as controls. The infants were divided into groups (extremely preterm, very preterm, moderate late preterm, and full-term) based on gestational age, and the groups were compared in the levels of physical growth and neurodevelopment. RESULTS: Except that the moderate preterm group had a higher length-for-age Z-score than the full-term group (P=0.038), there was no significant difference in physical growth indicators between the preterm groups and the full-term group (P>0.05). Each preterm group had a significantly lower total developmental quotient (DQ) than the full-term group (P<0.05). Except for the social behavior domain, the DQ of other domains in the extremely preterm and very preterm groups was significantly lower than that in the full-term group (P<0.05). The <32 weeks preterm group had a significantly higher incidence rate of global developmental delay than the full-term group (16.7% vs 6.4%, P=0.012), and the incidence rate of global developmental delay tended to increase with the reduction in gestational age (P=0.026). CONCLUSIONS Preterm infants can catch up with full-term infants in terms of physical growth at the corrected age of 18-24 months, but with a lower neurodevelopmental level than full-term infants. Neurodevelopment monitoring and early intervention should be taken seriously for preterm infants with a gestational age of <32 weeks.
Infant ; Child ; Infant, Newborn ; Humans ; Child, Preschool ; Infant, Premature ; Aftercare ; Patient Discharge ; Gestational Age