View clinical trials related to Prematurity.
Filter by:Nearly forty years ago Berran and coworkers tested an analog oxygen controller to maintain incubator oxygen levels for infants suffering neonatal respiratory disease in order to prevent hyperoxia. There are at least three clinical issues that this technology addresses: the first is avoidance of episodic hyperoxia; the second is decreasing episodic hypoxia; and the third is lowering cumulative oxygen exposure. Clinical trials which have used target SpO2 ranging probably help improve all of these problems, but so far there have been no direct measurements of continuous arterial oxygen levels, nor clinical studies which establish the degree to which improving control over blood oxygen saturation decreases the cumulative amount of oxygen exposure. This study will address the later and is an important step in the process of incorporating closed-loop oxygen control technology as a routine standard of neonatal respiratory care. OBJECTIVES: PART 1: Test and modify the instruction set for the computerized oxygen controller to achieve a goal of less than six (6) operator required interruptions per hour for oxygen saturation deviations outside of study guidelines. PART 2: Perform a within patient cross-over trial of the computerized oxygen controller versus standard of care (the patient's care team adjusts the patient's oxygen level) and evaluate the area under the time curve for oxygen exposure between the two control methods. PART 3:(After successful completion of PART 2) Continuation of the within patient cross-over study with a randomized cross-over sequence. Studies will last 4 to 12 hours divided in two (2) equal time blocks with one cross-over to either automatic or manual control modes. Provision for up to an additional twenty (20) patients to be studied.
The primary objective is to evaluate the PDA closure rate of early vs. late use of Ibuprofen (Ibu). The investigators believe that early use of Ibu will have a higher PDA closure rate than later use of Ibu. Early use is defined as medication given before the infant reaches 96 hrs old. Late use is defined as medication given when infant is more than 96 hrs old. The secondary objective is to measure the stress hormone and metabolic response (plasma catecholamines, glucose, and lactate) of neonates undergoing Ibu treatment of the PDA. The investigators believe that early ibuprofen will blunt the stress response greater than later use.
Approval of surfactant by the FDA in 1989 for the treatment of Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS) in premature infants greatly improved survival rates. Newer surfactants approved by the FDA were more concentrated and had a more rapid onset of action. The overall efficacy of newer surfactants appeared similar until in 2004, Ramanathan and colleagues suggested that a double dose of Curosurf improved survival in infants 25-32 weeks gestational age, compared to infants treated with Survanta, the most commonly used surfactant preparation in the United States. While the data was suggestive, it was not clear that the improvement in survival was reproducible or that Curosurf was responsible for the improved survival rates. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of Curosurf in improving lung function and survival rates and reducing the complications of prematurity in very premature infants < 30 weeks gestational age at birth.
In Canada each year, there are approximately 800 infants born between 28 and 32 weeks gestation. Up to 60% of these infants will require breathing tube placement for Respiratory Distress Syndrome or RDS. RDS is a lung disease of prematurity due to a lack of a compound called surfactant. The breathing tube is placed as a conduit for placing surfactant into the babies' lungs to improve the lung disease. Most babies are then placed on a breathing machine or ventilator. Ventilation is not without harm and can be associated with lung damage, delays in feeding, increased hospital stay and interruption of bonding. An alternative that does not require the presence of a breathing tube is Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP). We will randomize babies to either ventilation or CPAP to try to minimize the length of time the baby is kept on respiratory support.