BACKGROUND The infants, hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), engage with problems from admission to discharge, exploring of which ensures their safe transition. The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that influence infant's transition from the NICU to home. MATERIALS AND METHODS A qualitative study was used for identifying the factors that affect infant's tr...

Around 20% of very low birthweight infants admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit become hypotensive within 24 hours of their admission. Standard treatment is either expansion of the circulating volume by the infusion of plasma protein fraction or by using dopamine to improve cardiac function. The purpose of this study was to investigate by a randomised controlled trial which was the most a...

A comprehensive assessment of feeding performance of infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) includes not only the traditional approaches of evaluating oral motor control and sensory responses but also evaluation of other factors. Infant feeding is a highly complex and integrated process involving numerous body systems. A global assessment would determine the infant's feeding functio...

Descriptive statistics for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Network Neurobehavioral Scale summary scores are provided based on data from 1388 1-month-old infants in the Maternal Lifestyle Study (MLS) of prenatal drug exposure and child outcome. The multisite MLS is described, followed by tables with descriptive statistics and percentile for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Network Neurobehavior...

Sensory intervention, one aspect in the occupational therapy treatment of the high-risk, preterm infant in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), is discussed. Normal deviations in the healthy preterm baby's development at the equivalent age of the full-term baby are identified as a basis for intervention. Environmental factors affecting the preterm infant's interactions and therapeutic needs...

Much of the literature describes the prognosis for infants with full trisomy 18 as bleak. The case study offered here provides an overview of an infant with this diagnosis who lived for 88.5 days in a Level III neonatal intensive care unit. Care decisions (medical and basic care) and their outcomes are described along with implications for care for infants with a diagnosis often characterized a...

Objective. To determine the incidence, management, complications, and outcome in neonates with thrombotic events. Study Design. We performed a retrospective study of all neonates with thrombotic events admitted to our neonatal intensive care unit from January 2004 to July 2010. Results. Thrombotic events were identified in 32 of 4734 neonates (0.7%). Seven neonates were managed expectantly and ...

A multicenter surveillance study was performed to determine the rates of hand carriage of potential pathogens among healthcare personnel in four neonatal intensive care units. Staphylococcus aureus, enterococci, and gram-negative bacilli were recovered from 8%, 3%, and 2% of 1000 hand culture samples, respectively.

OBJECTIVE To determine the levels of sound to which infants are exposed during routine transport by ambulance, aircraft, and helicopter. DESIGN Sound levels during 38 consecutive journeys from a regional level III neonatal intensive care unit were recorded using a calibrated data logging sound meter (Quest 2900). The meter was set to record "A" weighted slow response integrated sound levels, ...

OBJECTIVE The identification of parental needs in Neonatal Intensive Care Units is essential to design and implement family-centered care. This article aims to validate the Neonatal Intensive Care Units Family Needs Inventory for the Portuguese population, and to propose a Short Form. METHODS A linguistic adaptation of the Neonatal Intensive Care Units Family Needs Inventory, a self-report sc...