View clinical trials related to Prematurity.
Filter by:This is a study examining repeatability and feasibility of a new method for measurement of lung function in babies. A flexible vest is placed around the torso of the baby, and changes in tidal volume and flow is measured. The study will enable a better understanding of the usefulness of this equipment in a neonatal intensive care unit. The equipment is made by VOLUSENSE Norway AS, and marketed under the name FloRight. The equipment is owned by Volusense Norway AS during the study period.
The purpose of this study is to determine the correlation, if any, between the nutritional content of breast milk pumped by the mothers of very low birth weight (VLBW) infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and the nutritional value they are actually receiving in a 24 hour period, since as a practical matter, these may not be the same.
Children born with very low birth weight and extremely low birth weight are at increased risk of various ophthalmic challenges such as retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), refractive error, strabismus, cerebral visual impairment, colour vision deficits, reduced contrast sensitivity (CS), visual field defects, and decreased visual acuity (VA). Many of these factors are not independent of each other. Among them, refractive error is a really common disorder. These can cause significant disability which can impact life's activities and, qualities. Currently, no standard guidelines are available toward the provision of ophthalmic follow up care for preterm infants. It is important to survey the prevalence of different ophthalmic sequelae in Taiwan, to identify the risk factors of developing these sequelae, and, furthermore, to build up a screening program. The preterm population has heterogeneous conditions to developing ophthalmic sequelae. National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) is now in charge of a big part of intense care for these low birth weight preterm neonates. With detailed medical record done of these children during care in the neonatal unit, we are competence for this meaningful program.
This study will examine the relationship of serum 25(OH)D levels in infants 32 weeks and greater gestation who are fed infant formula to markers of inflammation and bone metabolism.
The objective is to test a novel paradigm for the inhibition of human preterm uterine contractions. The study hypothesis is that human preterm contractions can be safely inhibited with a weak electrical current provided by an electrical inhibition/uterine pacemaker device. Preterm birth is still a major problem. Current methods of preventing the uterine contractions of preterm are limited and associated with many side-effects affecting both the mother and baby. A reliable method of preventing preterm uterine contractions would be an important discovery. Such a method could eventually lead to a long-term goal of decreasing neonatal morbidity and mortality.
The heart rate variability assessment of the sympathetic-parasympathetic balance is a strong analytical tool in the autonomic nervous system (ANS) physiology, at each end of life. In neonatology, it represents an important marker for understanding the breath and cardiac dysfunction, incriminated in the pathophysiology of unexplained death syndrome and apnea-bradycardia of prematurity. If recent clinical studies conducted by our team highlight a close link between the maturation degree of the ANS and gestational or postnatal age, with a substantial autonomic dysfunction in preterm infants, no study to date has focused profile autonomic maturation in the first two years of life, as that period for the infant is a vulnerability "window" especially cardiopulmonary and neurological. Psychomotor prognosis of newborns is more serious if prematurity is important and if periventricular leukomalacia or cortical anatomical brain lesions are obvious. However, the conventional imaging (Trans fontanel ultrasound, CT, MRI) is not sufficient in the neonatal period to thoroughly evaluate the neurological risk situations. During the neonatal period, the assessment of autonomic control, in practice easily quantifiable from time and frequency-domain analysis of cardiac RR variability, could be a strong marker, at a given time, from a neurological disorder undetectable by imaging, including sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve conduction dysfunction in some brainstem nuclei and cortical areas. The postnatal profile of the autonomic balance, as a marker of well ANS regulation could become an additional support to correlate transient or permanent autonomic deficit with a psychomotor development disorder at 2 years of age or later. This tool could be a help to target the children with a neurological risk and to schedule early therapeutic interventions and psychological or educational support.
Preterm infants often need peripheral artery catheters for invasive blood pressure recording and to facilitate blood sampling. Near infrared spectroscopy is a method to evaluate cerebral oxygenation and as well as cerebral blood flow. Sampling procedures with identical sampling volumes are performed at a short (40 seconds) and a long (70 seconds) time intervall while changes of cerebral oxygenation are measured. The investigators hypothesise that slower sampling decrease changes in cerebral blood flow.
The purpose of the study is to learn more about the development of small for gestational age (SGA) preterm infants and whether focusing on the infant's behavior has a positive effect on outcome. The study hypotheses state: 1) High risk severely SGA preterm infants will profit from detailed neuropsychological assessment, psychoeducational recommendations and practical guidance for caregiving, as well as formal educational and emotional support for the family and the professional care team. 2) Neuropsychological education and guidance for community-based early intervention providers caring for SGA preterm infants after their discharge is effective in promoting improved outcome.
Previous research studies have shown that there may be a connection between proton pump inhibitor therapies and hip fracture in adults(1). Proton pump inhibitor(PPI) reflux medications raise the pH of the stomach, which may effect the body's ability to absorb certain calcium compounds. Neonates are at a crucial age for bone mineralization. Because esophageal reflux is common in neonates, PPI therapy is commonly used, despite little information on effectiveness and side effects. PPIs work by blocking the production of protons in the pumps in the stomach, thus making the stomach less acidic. The calcium ion needs an acidic environment in order to be broken down from its natural compounds into an absorbable form (2). This is troubling because of the problems associated with osteopenia in neonates. Bone mineralization is important for premature infants. Rickets and bone fractures are higher in preterm infants than term infants. For this reason, we are investigating whether there is a connection between PPI therapies (specifically Prevacid) and decreased bone densities in neonates. The objective is to determine if a connection exists between proton pump inhibitor antacids and decreased rate of bone mineralization in neonates.
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.