OBJECTIVE Development of the gastrointestinal tract and immune system can be modulated by the gut microbiota. Establishment of the intestinal microbiota, in its turn, is affected by host and environmental factors. As such, development of the gut microbiota is greatly impacted in preterm infants, who have an immature gut and are exposed to factors like hospitalization, caesarean section, antibio...

OBJECTIVES The efficacy of BCG vaccination in preterm babies is unknown, and available data on conversion rates to tuberculin in this age group are scarce and controversial. This study assessed the tuberculin response in preterm infants after BCG vaccination. METHODS This randomized cohort study was carried out at the Neonatal Department, University Hospital, Federal University of Minas Gerai...

AIMS To prospectively evaluate the iron nutritional status of preterm infants fed either a term (0.5 mg/dl iron) or preterm (0.9 mg/dl) formulas fortified with iron after hospital discharge. METHODS Healthy low birthweight preterm infants were randomly assigned into three groups at the time of hospital discharge. Group A were fed an iron fortified preterm formula (0.9 mg/dl iron) until 6 mont...

BACKGROUND With improved medical outcome in preterm infants, the psychosocial situation of their families is receiving increasing attention. For parents, the birth of a preterm infant is generally regarded as a stressful experience, and therefore many interventions are based on reducing parental stress. Nevertheless, it remains unclear whether parents of children born preterm experience more st...

PURPOSE Bronchiolitis is an acute inflammatory injury of the bronchioles, and is the most frequent cause of hospitalization for lower respiratory tract infections in preterm infants. This was a retrospective, observational, case-control study conducted in Italy, based on administrative database analysis. The aim of this study was to evaluate differences in health care costs of preterm infants w...

BACKGROUND Infants born preterm are at risk for developmental impairments related to postural control. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to determine whether infants born preterm and infants born at full term differed in postural control at 1 to 3 weeks after term age. DESIGN This study included 17 infants born preterm (mean gestational age=31.9 weeks, range=25.0-34.6) and 15 infants ...

BACKGROUND Surfactant replacement therapy (SRT) is an integral part of management of preterm surfactant deficiency respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). Its role in the management of RDS has been extensively studied. However, its efficacy in the management of lung disease in preterm infants born with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) has not been systematically studied. OBJECTIVE To evalu...

Background: Considering the susceptibility of preterm infants to disturbances of vital signs, this study was conducted to investigate the effects of using plastic covers on regulation of vital signs in preterm neonates.Methods: This randomized, cross-over, clinical trial was carried out on 80 preterm infants admitted to neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of Taleghani Hospital, Tabriz, Iran. Th...

BACKGROUND Limited evidence has been provided on the trajectories of length, weight, and bone mineral density (BMD) among preterm infants in early life in Asian countries. METHODS We conducted a longitudinal study, which included 652 late preterm (gestational age: 34-36.9 weeks), 486 moderate preterm (32-33.9), 291 very preterm (28-31.9), 149 extremely preterm infants (≤ 28.9) and 1434 full-t...

Objectives: This study aimed to characterize the pattern and rate of motor skill acquisition among preterm infants from newborn to four months corrected age, in comparison with a group of full-term infants. Methods: Twelve healthy preterm infants (mean gestational age=33.6 weeks ± 1.25) and 10 healthy full-term infants (mean gestational age=39.1 weeks ± 0.73) participated in the study. These in...