View clinical trials related to Prematurity.
Filter by:Our bodies are home to millions and millions of microbes (bacteria, fungi and viruses), that live in harmony with us without producing any negative (disease producing) effects. Research is beginning to show that these microbes interact with us to help with our immune system, digestive tract and brain development among many other effects. This community of microbes, known collectively as our microbiome, may commence colonisation while we are developing in the womb and becomes quickly established after we are born. Much remains unknown about how preterm birth affects the development of our microbiome. The goal of this longitudinal observational study is to gather more information of how and from where we get those first few microbes, the pattern in which our microbiome develops, and how intensive care for a preterm baby affects this. The main questions it aims to answer are: - How is the gut microbiome of a very premature infant affected by clinical management practices (e.g. antibiotics, probiotics, feeding) and how does it progress subsequently. - How do probiotics colonise the preterm gut, and how do they persist once supplementation is discontinued. Samples will be collected from mothers and their infants during the NICU admission including: - A rectal swab - Meconium and stool - Urine - Blood - Expressed breastmilk - Maternal stool - Maternal oral swab - Maternal vaginal or skin swab (depending on mode of delivery) Samples will be analysed using next generation sequencing techniques to, for example, evaluate microbial composition of the samples or determine functional microbiome-host interactions.
In this proposed clinical trial, the investigators will randomize 80 very preterm (VPT) infants to receive either early (between day 4 and 7) or delayed (between day 10 and 14) fortification and determine if providing early protein supplementation through early fortification results in higher FFM-for-age z scores and more diversity in the gut microbiome.
Objective: To investigate the effect of FCR as part of the FICare principles during hospital stay, on parental stress at discharge in parents of preterm or ill infants admitted to the neonatal ward for >7 days as compared to standard medical rounds (SMR) without parents as part of standard neonatal care (SNC).
Extreme prematurity is constantly increasing according to the World Health Organization. However, methods to train premature infants at risk of disability is sorely lacking. The goal of this project is to overcome this problem. In our previous studies, we discovered that promoting the crawling of typical newborns on a mini skateboard, the Crawliskate (a new tool that we designed and patented EP2974624A1), is an excellent way to stimulate infants' motor and locomotor development. This method is a promising way to provide early interventions in infants at heightened risk for developmental delay, such as premature infants. The specific objective of this study is to determine if early training in crawling on this mini skateboard will accelerate motor (particularly locomotor) and/or neuropsychological development in very premature infants identified as median risk for developmental delay. Methodology: We will study and follow three groups of very premature infants born between 24 and 32 weeks of gestational age without major brain lesions. These infants will be recruited before their hospital discharge at the NICU. After their discharge from the hospital, one group of infants will be trained at home by physiotherapists to crawl on the Crawliskate every day for 2 months (Crawli group), one group of infants will be trained at home by physiotherapists positioned prone on a mattress (Mattress group) and one group of infants will receive regular medical care (Control group). All infants will be tested for: 1) their crawling proficiency on the Crawliskate at term-equivalent age (just before training for the trained groups) and at 2 months corrected age (CA, i.e., age determined from the date on which they should have been born), 2) their motor proficiency between 2 and 24 months CA (2D and 3D recording of head control, sitting, crawling, stepping, walking) and 3) their neurodevelopmental, motor and neuropsychological development between 0 and 24 months CA : BSID III edition, ASQ-3, Amiel-Tison's Neurological Assessment, Prechtl Assessment of general movements. One more ASQ-3 questionnaire will be provided at five years. Expected results: Our first research hypothesis is that premature infants trained daily to crawl (for two months after discharge from the NICU) will acquire proficient crawling patterns and develop earlier and more effective motor and neuropsychological development than premature infants who receive mattress training or no training.
There is increasing recognition that the microbiome may be important in the development of allergic disease. Asthma is the most prevalent pediatric chronic disease and affects more than 300 million people worldwide. For unclear reasons, those infants born at 34 weeks and earlier are three times as likely to develop asthma. Factors such as formula feeding, C-section delivery and antibiotic exposure may play a role. Recent evidence has identified a "critical window" in early life where gut and breast milk microbial changes are most influential. The investigators propose a novel study to follow a cohort of premature babies in the NICU and after discharge home. The investigators aim to examine whether various exposures of babies in the NICU impact their milk and gut microbiome and lead to asthma and allergies. Our specific aims are: 1. To assess if there is a specific pattern of gut and/or breast milk microbiome over time that is affected by the type of nutrition a baby receives (donor vs maternal vs formula) or other exposures such as antibiotics. 2. Assess whether there are patterns in the microbiome associated with the development of allergic sensitization patterns. 3. Determine if early patterns of the microbiome and allergic sensitization predict allergic conditions (food allergies, allergic rhinitis, eczema, asthma) by 2 years of age. The investigators will recruit approximately 50 subjects born at 34 weeks of gestation or earlier from two local level III NICU. These subjects will be followed over their NICU course with weekly stool, milk feed, and oral saliva collection as well as documentation of relevant events including prenatal history, delivery history, nutrition and breast feeding history and antibiotic courses. Further samples will be collected after discharge at research visits that will take place Rady Children's Hospital until 4-6 years of age. At these visits, standardized allergy questionnaires and a blood allergy panel will be obtained. Together this data will provide a unique opportunity to identify potential shifts in the microbiome associated with nutrition, asthma and allergy in preterm infants. Ultimately, the investigators may be able to discover ways to prevent the development of asthma and allergies during this early window of opportunity.
Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) usually present coexisting problems in emotion and behavior regulation, similarly as premature children with communication or socialization difficulties. Caring for children with neurodevelopmental difficulties is an important stressor for parents. Therefore, it is essential that families are offered evidence-based interventions at an early stage within the public health service. Group therapy is a cost-effective intervention that can help parents of children diagnosed with autism and those born prematurely. The Incredible Years - ASLD program is an example of this sort of therapy, consisting of a group intervention for parents of preschool children with a diagnosis of ASD or Language Delay. In Spain, group interventions for children with ASD and preterm children presenting with Language Delay are scarce in the public health service. The Incredible Years - ASLD program has not been translated into Spanish and it has not been previously implemented in our country. The Incredible Years - ASLD group intervention will be carried out in three public Healthcare centers. It is intended to recruit 72 patients diagnosed with ASD or premature children with communication or socialization difficulties, which will be randomized to an Intervention Group or to Treatment as Usual (TAU) Group. The Intervention Group will receive fourteen sessions of the Incredible Years - ASLD program in addition to Treatment as Usual (TAU). In terms of clinical implications, this randomized pilot study could demonstrate the feasibility of implementing this intervention in the regular clinical settings within the Spanish public health service and could be a first step for future controlled studies that demonstrate its effectiveness.
Improved survival of very preterm newborn population during the last decades has challenged us neonatologists to study and improve nutritional practices including vitamin D (VitD) supplementation. However, long term outcome in this aspect has not been researched in well documented preterm populations. As VitD has receptors in almost all human cells it modulates growth of many organs. Therefore I start to assess VitD supplementation practices and later health outcome (bones, teeth, muscles, heart, lungs) in two preterm population cohorts cared in Oulu University Hospital at the age of 5 years and 24 years (born 2014-2017 and 1994-1997).
This study evaluates the relationship between growth and stool microbiota in premature infants.
The overall objective of the proposal is to evaluate the ability of ultrasound to predict the body composition of toddlers in the outpatient clinical setting and to evaluate the relationship between body composition and neurodevelopment.
The purpose of this study is to determine whether providing increased protein to premature infants in the first week of life allows for better growth during the hospital stay and improved developmental outcomes by age 2.