View clinical trials related to Infant, Premature.
Filter by:Oxygen treatment is common in management of preterm babies requiring intensive care. Delivery of too much or too little oxygen increase the risk of damage to eyes and lungs, and contributes to death and disability. Oxygen control in preterm infants requires frequent adjustments in the amount of oxygen delivered to the baby. This is generally performed manually by a clinician attending the baby, and generally directed to maintaining a specific range of blood oxygen saturation. The manual control often results in only half of the time in the specified range, with the baby experiencing high and low blood oxygen saturations. The technology being studied is designed to assist the clinician in maintaining blood oxygen saturation within target range by measuring oxygen saturation and automatically adjusting the amount of oxygen delivered for babies receiving high velocity nasal insufflation (an advanced form of high flow oxygen therapy). The proposed study will evaluate the efficacy and safety of the automatic control of oxygen by the new technology, as compared to manual control, among babies receiving high velocity therapy in a neonatal intensive care unit.
This is a prospective, observational clinical cohort study involving 100 mothers and their very preterm infants born at less than 32 weeks gestation. The purpose of this study is to gain a thorough understanding of the microbiome (the collection of microbes in a biological site) establishment in very preterm infants. The study will also examine the perinatal factors associated with the pattern of microbiome development, the metabolome and immune development of this population in the first months of life. All participants will be recruited from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Foothills Medical Centre (FMC) in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Premature birth (birth before 37 weeks of pregnancy) occurs in about one in ten pregnancies each year. Babies that are born after less than 32 weeks of pregnancy are considered to be very premature babies. When babies are born very prematurely their gut is not as developed. One important factor in gut health is the large community of microbes (tiny living things such as bacteria) that live on the human body called the microbiome. Recent studies have shown that premature babies are more likely to have changes in their gut microbiome that are associated with health issues. However, sciences has not yet discovered what specific microbiome features are involved in development of premature babies. Therefore, this study examines the impact of very premature birth on the premature baby's microbiome. The kind of microbes that make up the microbiome in the gut in the first months of life have a major impact on the microbiome that will form during childhood. There are many environmental factors during pregnancy, birth and in first months of life that can impact the microbiome development. These factors include diet, exposure to antibiotics, surgical procedures, and birth mode. This study will investigate how these factors influence the types of early microbes present in preterm infants. The hypothesis of the study is that specific microbial patterns, trajectories and/or metabolites will be significantly associated with single or a combination of perinatal maternal and/or infant factors. The primary objective of the study is to learn more about the development of the microbiome in very premature babies in the first months of their life. To do this, participating baby's stool and urine samples will be studied. A secondary objective of the study is to find out how environmental factors impact the development of the microbiome and the health of preterm infants. In order to do this, maternal microbiome samples will be studied and information regarding maternal health, nutrition and environment during pregnancy will be collected. As well, information about the birth and health of participating preterm neonates will be collected.
Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a chronic lung disease that affects up to 35% of very low birth weight infants (VLBW < 1500 g). Based on the current numbers of VLBW infants born annually in the U.S., between 5,000-10,000 neonates will develop BPD each year. It is estimated that 8-42% of infants with BPD will develop pulmonary hypertension (PH). Moreover, it has been known since the 1980's that echocardiographic evidence of PH in infants with BPD is associated with up to 40% mortality. Treatment options to ameliorate PH in infants with BPD (BPD-PH) are limited. There have been no randomized clinical trials of any therapy in infants with BPD-PH. The standard care for the management of BPD-PH is to attempt to resolve the underlying lung disorder and the judicious use of oxygen as a potent pulmonary vasodilator. Using this management approach, which has not changed since the 1980's, the survival rates for infants with BPD-PH in the 2000's has been reported to be 64% at 6 months and 53% at 2 years after diagnosis of PH. The lack of improvement in outcomes for the past 3 decades has led to the widespread agreement that novel and effective therapies are desperately needed for infants with BPD-PH. The goal is to develop oral L-citrulline clinically for the treatment of pediatric pulmonary hypertension associated with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD-PH); before pursuing a large scale treatment trial, pharmacokinetic (PK) dose-finding, tolerability studies in patients at high risk of developing BPD-PH are warranted. The hypothesis is that oral L-citrulline will be well tolerated, without significant adverse effects in infants at high risk of developing pulmonary hypertension (PH) associated with BPD. The investigators propose to first characterize the PK profile of oral L-citrulline in order to define an appropriate dose range and treatment interval for infants at high risk of developing BPD-PH. Then using the doses and intervals generated by the PK profile, with a maximum dose of 3 g/kg/d, the investigators propose to evaluate the tolerability and ability to achieve the target study drug level (100-150 micromolar) in babies treated for 72 hours with oral L-citrulline. These studies will provide the data needed to design a full-scale randomized multi-center trial to evaluate the efficacy of oral L-citrulline therapy to ameliorate BPD-PH in human infants, a patient population that has a desperate need of new therapies.
Multiple factors contribute to growth failure in infants with BPD, including poor nutrient stores, inadequate intake, increased losses, and increased needs. Furthermore, compared to infants without BPD, those with BPD have increased resting metabolic rates and energy expenditure. Growth deficits manifest as lower weight, length, and head circumference, as well as changes in body composition. These deficits precede the development of BPD and persist post-discharge. While similar rates of growth are observed in very low birth weight infants with and without BPD once receiving equal calories, catch up growth does not occur in the BPD group. Thus, early growth deficits remained uncompensated. After iron, zinc is the most metabolically active trace element in the human body. It has a critical role in growth, through its actions on growth hormone, IGF-1, IGFBP-3, and bone metabolism. Prematurity is a risk factor for zinc deficiency, as 60% of zinc accretion occurs in the third trimester. Impaired intake and absorption or excess excretion can further increase this risk. Finally, periods of rapid growth, as seen in preterm infants, increase the need for zinc. Biochemically, zinc deficiency is defined by a serum zinc level less than 55mcg/dl. However, while zinc depletion is associated with deficiency, the opposite may not be true. For example, in starving patients, clinical symptoms of zinc deficiency occur during re-feeding, suggesting overall requirements are related to needs, regardless of overall zinc status. This may be the case in preterm infants, who may have a subclinical deficiency despite serum zinc level. Thus, zinc deficiency should be considered in infants with poor growth despite receiving adequate protein and calories. The objective of this study is to determine whether enteral zinc supplementation leads to improved growth in infants at risk for bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). The investigator's hypothesis is that enteral zinc supplementation in very preterm infants at high risk for BPD will significantly improve growth compared to standard of care.
The purpose of this study is to assess whether two methods of breathing support in babies called 'Humidified High-Flow Nasal Cannula' oxygen (HHFNC) and 'nasal Continuous Positive Airways Pressure' (nCPAP) are compatible with breastfeeding. Many babies who are premature or unwell after birth require help with their breathing. This is often achieved by blowing a continuous flow of air through the nose and down into the lungs in order to reduce the amount of effort the baby needs to inflate the lungs during breathing. Currently some centres allow babies to breastfeed whilst undergoing breathing support whilst other centres do not in case there is an increased risk of choking or other harmful events. In the latter case, babies are fed using a nasogastric tube (NGT) that runs from the baby's nostrils into their stomach. At this centre, babies are allowed to breastfeed whilst simultaneously on either HHFNC or nCPAP. This is because the concerns over the choking risk are not evidence based. This study aims to conclusively prove that thisfeeding protocol is safe and then to expand into other areas of research to find out the following: - Whether breastfeeding during nCPAP or HHFNC leads to babies establishing full breastfeeding sooner (and subsequently reduce the length of their stay in hospital) - What the effects of breastfeeding of nCPAP or HHFNC are on a baby's parents (e.g. whether it enhances bonding) - If nCPAP and HHFNC have different effects on breastfeeding As part of this study the investigators will observe stable babies on nCPAP or HHFNC during breastfeeding episodes. The investigators will monitor the babies for signs of distress or instability and whether they are more stable when breastfeeding is not occurring. This will be compared to an episode where the same baby is fed by NGT to see which technique is better.
Very low birth weight (VLBW) infants have more health and developmental problems than normal birth weight full-term infants. These problems are more common in males than female VLBW preterm infants. Male VLBW infants also experience less positive mother-infant interactions than females, especially when mothers are emotionally distressed. This is a significant problem because positive mother-infant interactions function as an important protective factor against the negative health and developmental outcomes associated with prematurity. The source of the vulnerability of male VLBW infants to health problems, suboptimal mother-infant interactions, and poor development goes beyond gender socialization differences and includes biological factors. Identification of infant and maternal biological markers/predictors of infant health and developmental outcomes could ultimately lead to interventions for VLBW preterm infants. The purpose of this study is to confirm that testosterone rather than cortisol is a more reliable marker/predictor of complications affecting infants' health outcomes, mother-infant interactions, and infant cognitive/motor/language developmental outcomes; and that male infants exhibit a higher sensitivity to testosterone levels than female infants. This longitudinal study will examine the associations of the steroid hormones, testosterone and cortisol, levels with infant health, mother-infant interactions, and infant cognitive/motor/language development ('infant development') in very low birthweight (VLBW, BW < 1,500 g) preterm (gestational age < 32 weeks gestation) infants after adjusting for maternal physical and mental health state, infant socioemotional and behavioral development, and characteristics of infants and mothers. Concurrent and repeated measurement of testosterone and cortisol levels both in infants and mothers will be conducted through infancy and early childhood (at birth, 40 weeks postmenstrual age, 12 and 24 months corrected age).
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of Cisapride in improving feeding problems in premature newborn infants.
The highest risk for perinatal brain injury occurs among extremely premature infants who weigh less than 1250 grams at birth. Such perinatal brain injury is currently irreversible, associated with neurodevelopmental disability, and without adequate treatment modalities. Research in recent years suggest in both animal and human studies that erythropoietin (Epo) may have significant neuroprotective effects. Given the historical safe medical profile of Epo when used for anemia of prematurity but the likely need for a greater dosage regimen for activation of neuroprotective pathways against neonatal brain injury, we therefore propose this phase II study of high-dose Epo in very low birth weight infants for the prevention and/or attenuation of prematurity-related cerebral hemorrhagic-ischemic injury.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of the NIDCAP program of individualized patient consultation on the neurobehavioral organization of transported preterm infants in the NICU. Behavioral response to routine caregiving will be compared between infants in the pre-NIDCAP group to infants in the post-NIDCAP group. And it is this behavioral response that will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the NIDCAP program.
The purpose of the study is to detect structural brain changes using MRI and to correlate these findings with neurodevelopmental assessments in two-year old children previously enrolled in the NIH sponsored trial of inhaled Nitric Oxide (iNO) for the prevention of Chronic Lung Disease in preterm ventilated infants. It is hypothesized that this imaging will identify children with previously undiagnosed brain abnormalities and that the presence of structural abnormalities will be associated with deficits in motor, cognitive, and neurosensory development.