Niranjan Thomas

Neonatal Group B Streptococcal bacteraemia in India: ten years experience.

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is an infrequent cause of neonatal septicaemia in many developing countries. In a perinatal centre in India with 60,119 live births between 1988 and 1997, GBS was isolated from blood cultures of 10 babies. Thus the incidence of GBS bacteraemia was 0.17 per 1000 live births. Lethargy, respiratory distress and poor perfusion were the presenting features in eight symptomatic babies. Two babies had meningitis, three required ventilatory support and one died. There were no cases of late onset disease. The low incidence could be due to the low rate of colonisation and high prevalence of protective antibody in the mothers. □Developing country, group B streptococcus, neonate

Determination of extended-interval gentamicin dosing for neonatal patients in developing countries.

Background: Infectious diseases account for an estimated 36% of neonatal deaths globally. The purpose of this study was to determine safe, effective, simplified dosing regimens of gentamicin for treatment of neonatal sepsis in developing countries. Methods: Neonates with suspected sepsis in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Christian Medical College and Hospital (CMC), Vellore, India (n = 49), and Dhaka Shishu Hospital (DSH), Bangladesh (n = 59), were administered gentamicin intravenously according to the following regimens: (1) 10 mg every 48 hours for neonates <2000 g; (2) 10 mg every 24 hours for neonates 2000–2249 g; and (3) 13.5 mg every 24 hours for neonates ≥2500 g. Serum gentamicin concentration (SGC) at steady state and pharmacokinetic indices were determined. Renal function was followed while under treatment and hearing was examined 6 weeks to 3 months after discharge. Results: All neonates, except 1 weighing 2000–2249 g at DSH, had a peak SGC >4 μg/mL. Overall, 5 (10%) and 17 (29%) infants had a peak SGC level ≥12 μg/mL from CMC and DSH, respectively, and 10 (20%) and 4 (7%) cases from CMC and DSH, respectively, had a trough SGC level ≥2 μg/mL. However, no infant <2000 g had a trough SGC level ≥2 μg/mL. We found no evidence of gentamicin nephrotoxicity or ototoxicity. Conclusion: Safe, therapeutic gentamicin dosing regimens were identified for treatment of neonatal sepsis in developing country settings. Administration of these doses could be simplified through use of Uniject, a prefilled, single injection device designed to make injections safe and easy to deliver in developing country settings.

Neonatal hydrothorax following migration of a central venous catheter.

The use of a central venous catheter may occasionally be associated with complications like sepsis, effusions and thrombosis. Migration of the central catheter is an unusual complication that often goes unrecognized. This case report is of a neonate who developed hydrothorax resulting from a migrating central line and highlights the need for a high level of clinical suspicion in diagnosing catheter related problems.

Haemophilus parainfluenzae: report of an unusual cause of neonatal sepsis and a literature review

Haemphilus parainfluenzae, an unusual cause of early-onset neonatal sepsis, is rarely reported. Risk factors for this serious infection include prolonged rupture of membranes, choriamnionitis, and prematurity. A high index of suspicion, proper culture techniques, and rapid species identification are needed to diagnose H. parainfluenzae sepsis. We present the first documented case from India with a review of the literature.

Crisponi syndrome in an Indian patient: A rare differential diagnosis for neonatal tetanus

Niranjan Thomas, Sumita Danda,* Manish Kumar, Atanu Kumar Jana, Giangiorgio Crisponi, Alessandra Meloni, and Laura Crisponi Department of Neonatology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India Clinical Genetics Unit, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India Servizio di Puericultura, Centro per lo studio delle malformazioni congenite, Casa di cura Sant’Anna, Cagliari University, Cagliari, Italy Istituto di Neurogenetica e Neurofarmacologia—Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Cittadella Universitaria di Monserrato, Monserrato, Italy

Tyrosinemia type I: A clinico-laboratory case report

Progressive hepatocellular dysfunction in a neonate, resulting in elevated serum α-fetoprotein together with raised blood levels of tyrosine and methionine, a generalized amino aciduria and the absence of urinary δ-aminolevulinic acid and succinylacetone, suggests a diagnosis of tyrosinemia type Ib. Classical tyrosinemia type I arises from a deficiency of fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase while the variant tyrosinemia type Ib results from a deficiency of maleylacetoacetate isomerase.

A randomized double-blind controlled trial comparing two regimens of vitamin D supplementation in preterm neonates

Objective:To compare the efficacy of 400 vs 1000 IU oral vitamin D supplementation in preterm neonates of 27 to 34 weeks gestation.Methods:This double-blind randomized controlled trial allocated preterm babies to receive either 400 or 1000 IU of vitamin D3 (n=60 in each group). Primary outcome was prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency (serum vitamin D levels<20 ng ml−1) at 40 weeks of corrected gestational age (CGA).Results:At term CGA vitamin D insufficiency was significantly lower in the 1000 IU group than in the 400 IU group (2% vs 64.6%, P⩽0.001). Although elevated vitamin D levels were seen in 9.8% of babies on 1000 IU per day, this was not associated with clinical or biochemical evidence of toxicity.Conclusion:Supplementing preterm babies with 1000 IU of vitamin D3 daily decreases the prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency at term CGA. Excess levels of vitamin D may occur at this dose in some babies.

Phase Changing Material: An Alternative Method for Cooling Babies with Hypoxic Ischaemic Encephalopathy

Background: Therapeutic hypothermia for hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE) has been proved effective. Standard equipment is expensive, while ice packs used in low resource settings are labour intensive and associated with wider temperature fluctuations. Objectives: To assess the feasibility of using phase changing material (PCM) as an alternative method for providing therapeutic hypothermia. Methods: We retrospectively analysed 41 babies with HIE who had been cooled with PCM (OM 32™ or HS 29™) to a target rectal temperature of 33-34°C. Rectal temperature was continuously monitored and recorded every hour. If the rectal temperature was >33.8°C, cool gel packs were applied, and if the temperature was <33.2°C, the baby was covered with sheets and the warmer output turned on till the temperature stabilized at 33.5°C. The units standard protocol for cooling was followed for monitoring and treatment. The outcome measures were stability and fluctuation of the rectal temperature and the need for interventions to maintain the target temperature. Results: The mean (±SD) temperature during the cooling phase was 33.45 ± 0.26°C. Throughout the cooling phase, the target temperature range was maintained in 96.2% of the time. There was no temperature reading <32°C. With HS 29, ice packs were not used in any baby, and the warmer was used for a median of 7 h (interquartile range 1.5-14). Conclusions: PCM provides a low cost and effective method to maintain therapeutic hypothermia. However, careful monitoring is required during induction and the rewarming phase to avoid hypothermia outside the therapeutic range.

A randomized control trial comparing two enteral feeding volumes in very low birth weight babies.

Poor post-natal growth of preterm neonates is common and fortification is recommended. However, this is not always practical in low-resource areas. Hypothesizing that increasing the volume of feeds would be safe and lead to better post-natal weight gain, we randomized 64 babies with birth weight <1500 g, once they reached full feeds, to continue feeds at 200 ml/kg/day (standard volume) or increase to 300 ml/kg/day (high volume) of expressed breast milk. There was a significantly higher daily weight gain in the high-volume group as compared to the standard volume group (24.9 vs. 18.7 g/kg/day, p < 0.0001). There were no differences in complications like feed intolerance, tachypnoea, sepsis, patent ductus arteriosus or necrotizing enterocolitis. High-volume feeds at 300 ml/kg/day was safe and resulted in better weight gain than standard volume feeds in very low birth weight babies.

Unusual complications of placental chorioangioma: consumption coagulopathy and hypertension in a preterm newborn

We report a case of a preterm neonate born to a mother with giant placental chorioangioma. The baby had microangiopathic haemolytic anaemia, thrombocytopenia and cardiac failure at birth. In addition, she had a disseminated intravascular coagulation-like picture and had bleeding from multiple sites, which was treated with transfusion of multiple blood products. She also developed transient hypertension and required antihypertensive drugs for 3 weeks. The baby was successfully managed and discharged home, though with signs of neurosensory impairment.